Don't Slip on the Splinters
by Getti
Summary: Professional ice skating, a world of intrigue, romance and merciless murder. When police officer Roy meets a pair of young ice skaters, will his pitiful world change for good? RoyxEd
1. If We Catch A Criminal

**Warnings:** Alrighty, well this is AU and the pairings are ROY X ED, and it probably will have sporadic updating disorder too.

AU: To such a degree that I could make the sky pink and no-one could quibble. :Grin:

Also, if any Pairs Ice skating fans are reading and notice I get the name of a move wrong, I'm very sorry. I only just started watching it recently. (The Winter Olympics) And have only managed to pick up a little about the judging and requirements. Sorry. --;

**Don't Slip on The Splinters**

Chapter 1

By Forgetful.

" And leg up...Keep it straight! That's a good girl. Fabulous!" Rosetta's skates cut through the ice as she slid alongside Winry. Both women moved fluidly, and Edward was content to watch, for then.

" And here is where Mr. Elric will enter!" Her heavy russian accent topped with her crisp attitude made her a rather formidable instructor, and yet the two skaters would be taught by no-one else. Ed took his cue and pushed himself gracefully from the side to join Winry as she glided, taking her hands up in his own and spinning them both around.

" Stay there, stay there...And now release! Good, very good! And now the double toe loop, don't forget what I told you about body posture, keep the movements _liquid_. If you are too stiff and do not bend, you will veer off course and crash into eachother. You know this by now! That's it, right...No. Nununo, I will not allow that disgraceful movement Edward." They stopped their ice dance and bowed their heads.

" Sorry Rosetta, I will try..." Ed began, his eyes locked on the churned up ice beneath him.

" Are you uncomfortable?" The woman asked abruptly.

" No." Ed looked up suprised. "I trust Winry completely, I just...I don't know." He sighed.

" I didn't ask that, I asked if you were _comfortable_. Edward, you must show fire, passion! And then tragedy, the unbearable sorrow, keep her almost glued to your side, like she is your life! Have you never felt that way before? Tell me you have, and think about it when you dance." Her eyes shone with renewed passion for the sport, and she clutched her hands to her chest.

" I don't think I...Never mind. I'll get this right Rosetta. I will."

" You'd better, because right now you are a wooden doll in this poor girl's arms." She scolded, gesturing wildly at Winry. " You'll get nowhere like that, even with winnning the Skyfield Qualifying Ice Dancing. Now, from the top." She skidded over to the CD player on the other side of the ice and stopped the music that had been tinkling on in the background, she put on the music for the lifting sequence, some classical by Felini, and they began again.

XxxxxxxxxX

Roy had often come to the Ice academy to think, to observe. He'd sit in the balcany and watch whoever was dancing, or skiing, or bobsleighing. It was a place people left him alone. Turnig down familiar corridoors he pushed open the door to the ski slopes, but heard no reassuring shouts or slip of skis. It was empty.

That was unusual, as most Thursdays the skiing troupe would practice, what with the competetition season coming up. The bobsleighing group were still there, but packing up, and the speed skaters eyed him suspiciously.

" Not welcome there then." He muttered. If there was nothing on he'd just st alne somewhere, even being alone was better than being badgered by his ex-mother-in-law. That woman had a problem alright. The beginning of a musical track broke his reverie and caught his attention. He followed it to the figure skating. In the stand was a blond boy, a little younger than him. He seemed to be watching intently the couple on the ice.

" Mind if I sit here?" Roy asked, pointing to the seat next to the boy. He gave a wonderful smile back.

" Sure!" Roy took to chair and settled into it, watching as the instructress scolded the couple for a sloppy piece of footwork. They began again, it really was amazing how the girl could go so high when she was thrown from the boy's arms, and then land on te slippery surface so perfectly. She glided, he span. Synchronised they jumped and span in the air twice. _A double salchow._ His mind supplied. He'd seen this sport before. Not just ice skating, Figure Skating.

" Are you related to those two?" He asked the boy, who seemed enraptured.  
" Hm? Oh, yes, he's my brother. I'm sorry, hi, I'm Alphonse Elric." He held out a hand to Roy, the smile back on his face.

" Roy Mustang." He shook it firmly."But the girl, she looks very much like you."

" She does?" Alphonse thought for a moment, studying the pair below. "I suppose so, in her own way. But no, my brother and I have known her a long time, but we aren't related." There was an unfilled pause, and yet Roy found himself enjoying the boy's company. It was nice to talk to someone who knew a little about his interests.

" They're very good." Alphonse hummed his agreement.

" Rosetta works them very hard, and they've been practising for years now. Winry's always loved ice dancing, and has been with Ed about six I think. They won the Skyfield competition last year, and Rosetta's taught them ever since." Roy nodded and went back to watching the dancers. He winced when the girl, Winry, was held by the wrist and spun very close to the ice, almost lying down on top of it. It was almost painful to watch, but they pulled it off smoothly. She pulled herself back up and span off to the next move."I'd say the Death Spiral was something they excel at." Alphonse judged, criticly observing the move.

" An outside Death Spiral is a difficult move, I'd say I agree with you." Roy chimed. Alphonse's face lit up.

" You know the moves! Do you watch often?"

" Often enough to know what you're talking about. I like to be alone, and watching winter sports is a great excuse." Roy shot him a sparing grin back. Alphonse laughed.

" Well alright then. Oh, looks like training's over. Perhaps I'll see you here again?" Alphonse got up to leave.

" Perhaps you well. Goodbye Alphonse."

" Call me Al."

And well, that was that. The skaters left the ice, Al headed to the changing rooms, and Roy left the building. He just hoped he could avoid a run in with his Ex-Mother-in-law. Damn persistent old hag.

An hour later he found himself in a sleepy, dark little cafe on a busy shopping street. It was a place he'd usually meet with his partner. Hughes, speak of the devil, waltzed into the cafe with a tinkle from the bell over the door. He flopped down on the chair opposite Roy and grinned.

" Morning Mustang. You look typically gloomy my friend." He clapped said man on the back, earning himself a scowl.

" I'm not 'gloomy' Hughes. In fact, I'm having a rather good day. My Mother-in-Law has disappeared off the face of the Earth, thank you oh Lord, they remembered to put extra cream in my coffee and I found a place I'm welcome to relax. I feel better than I have in weeks." Roy sighed. It really was better than usual.

" Glad to hear it. My day has been fantastic as usual and my little Elysia is doing wonderfully! Thanks for asking."

" I didn't."

" Uh oh, evil Bat out of Hell coming this way." Hughes' smile got wider as an old yet stylish lady came through the door of the cafe.

" Mr. Mustang! There you are, I said I'd hound you and so I shall, where is the money? I'll be getting a court order you know! You can't just divorce your wife and then think you've washed your hands of her! You have to pay, Mr. Mustang. Money, benefits. Support your family...-" She began her rant.

" I have no children, Mrs. Vulderhousen. There's no family to send me on a guilt trip with." Roy sighed, leaning his heavy head on one hand, elbow on table. The old woman had stopped, but pulled a fan out of her bag and smacked Roy's arm with it.

" What was that for?" Roy cried, after his elbow had been pushed out from under him and his head had almost hit the table.

" Manners Mr. Mustang, manners! Elbows on table, tut tut." She shook her head.

" I don't need to listen to this." Roy stood up and left the little establishment, the woman hobbling behind and Hughes striding beside him. "Stupid old hag, can't she just get over it? Honestly, she should just go ahead with this court order and get my money, although I've given my wife more than enough already." Roy sighed again. So much for his good day.

" Yup. At least we know we have a better social life than her. Not even her husband wants to spend time with her and so she tails you." Hughes continued grinning.

"My _husband_ is _dead_!" A cry from behind shrieked in their ears. When the ringing stopped, Roy muttered.

" Her incessant whining probably killed him. God knows how she got him to marry her." Hughes began to laugh despite Roy's darkening countenance. They reached the car, siren on top shining in the bright grey that passed for sunlight. He turned to face the fuming woman. "Look Mrs. Vulderhousen, I don't have time for this. I'm very busy and...-" His radio buzzed into action at that very moment, crackling out its message.

_" CaRs tHrEe, FiVe aNd sEvEn rEpOrT To mAiN StReEt, We hAvE An ArMeD RoBbErY. i rEpEaT; aRmEd rObBeRy!"_ It fuzzed.

" I have to go Mrs. Vulderhousen. Have a good day." He swiftly entered the car and heard her screams of frustration all the way down the street. When they got to main street, it was obviously the bank.

" You go round the back Roy, I'll take the front entrance." Roy nodded and used his badge to get past terrified bank workers.

" I'll need to go through the back, can you lead me?" Roy asked a relatively calm looking man, flashing his police badge. The man nodded dumbly and lead him shakily through the bank's interior. He reached a door that could only be opened from the outside with a code. The inside was easily opened however, and he peered around it to check on the situation. There was already on policeman there, his partner bleeding from a leg wound on the floor. Hughes was blocking the exit and the 'robber' was a man with a gun. No balaclava or stockings covering his face, just a hoodie. It did enough of the job to hide his features though. He almost didn't notice the other one, standing to the side with his gun to the crowd.

" Don't come any closer or I'll shoot! I'll do it! We'll leave with the money and no-one gets hurt." The man bent and picked up a backpack, bulging with twenty to fifty dollar bills. "Don't move!" He shrieked at Hughes, who had moved to help the injured man on the floor.

" Just let me get him to hospital. You don't want to be responsible for murder do you?" Hughes countered.

" I don't care, just...just stay still!" He moved to the door but Hughes blocked him, and that's when he snapped. He grabbed a girl who screamed from the crowd and held the gun under her chin. Roy's adrenalin-high mind recognized the girl, but he didn't have tine to linger on it before a boy burst from the crowd, yelling.

" Winry!"

Well woop, there you go. I got the idea for the bank robbery from the news which was playing at the time. Someone robbed a bank in my hometown and this actually happened. Although, Winry wasn't the hostage, it was a cashier. And Roy and Hughes weren't the policemen, they were random British blokes. And women but whatever. Heh.

Reviews would be _loved_.


	2. When We Catch A Criminal

A/N: Um, hello. :waves sheepishly: Yah, well this has been ignored by me for a while, but here it finally is! Chapter two of yet another fic of Forgetful's with no plot line. Let's just say that I'm waiting for inspiration to strike, and until it does, you'll just have to make do with all the RoyxEd action I use to fill the empty, plot-less void. Even though fluff and I aren't on good terms at the moment...

Oh, and a few people asked me about Roy and Al's ages. Um.

Well, I thought I'd make Roy younger than in the series, but he still has to be old enough to be a respected cop. Ed and Al are older too...I don't think I'm going to give specific ages. Lets just say they're all legit and...I dunno', over sixteen if you want them to be. I guess Ed will be, Roy has to be. (He was married. --;) Meh, whatever YOU want them to be. It's for your enjoyment after all. I know it's vague, but I thought I'd give answering people's questions a go at least.

Yeah, one more thing, this won't be AlxWinry. I can't be bothered, it's enough work trying to get one couple together as it is...--;

BTW, uh huh. It's been even longer than when I wrote the first AN sentence! AH! But now there IS a plot, I did some research and it's all coming together nicely. It's hard to believe the beginning of this chapter was written almost a year ago, right after the first one! Yipes...

Disclaimer:checks label: Nope, not mine.

**Don't Slip on The Spliters**

Chapter 2-Where It All Begins

A Random Sports fic, by the incredibly un-sporty, unhealthy Forgetful.

Åt the shout, all chaos broke out. People ducking and screaming, running for the doors, dragging bags and children. A little girl cried for her mother, alone on the floor, before a man lifed her up into his shoulders to carry her above the crushing crowd.

And that's when the shot rang out.

As quickly as it had started, the pandemonium stopped and people stared in horror at the hole politely leaking plaster dust in flurries onto the nylon floor. The bullet had buried itself in the white of the ceiling, and the man who'd fired it's hands were shaking uncontrolably as he cocked the gun once more.

" Anyone moves and the next one'll be buried in her skull!" He threatened, looking round with wide, freightened eyes a his captured audience, tightening his grip on the girl in his grasp. "Right." He signalled to the other, whose gun, although aimed at Roy's head, seemed much more lax in his grip. In fact, the whole posture of the 'accomplice' was far too relaxed, as though he'd been doing this sort of thing his whole life. Roy glared at the two of them, knowing something just wasn't right and that he wouldn't figure out why without evidence. And a lot more evidence than he already had at that.

" Grab the bags and get to the...vehical." The jumpy one ordered, pausing to make sure he gave away nothing about the car or van they drove, or the people that Roy suspected they worked for. No, this was planned in far too much detail to just be these two on their own. "Get Jimbo too, I don't trust these cops." He spat at Roy's feet, and Roy narrowed his eyes over the barrel of his gun. There were three as far as he could tell, although one was outside somewhere, he still couldn't hope to take two armed men on alone. He looked toward Hughes who had used a stray coat to pillow the wounded officer's head, ready to send his own signal. They had more men at the moment, if they could only time it right...It was then that he realised the third officer was restraining a boy. The blond in fact, from the skating rink.

" Let me go, for God's sake take your hands off me! Winry, Winry!" He cried out random nothings as he fought ferociously against his captor, and Roy noticed the gun on the floor between them.

With movements like a cat he slid in a blur across the marble bank floor and kicked the gun towards Hughes. Bullets smashed into the wall and floor behind him, missing his torso narrowly but not having time to be backed up by more. The 'accomplice', the slimy one, he'd fired the gun. However he was now tied up with a very disgruntled Hughes who had scooped up the gun and fired back almost instantly, moving away from the squirming, thriving crowd that had begun to move again.

Slimy spun back, a bullet fired by Hughes finding its mark. He fell, clutching his shoulder, and writhed on the floor behind a service desk he'd been using for cover.

Ignoring them, Roy drop kicked the man restraining the blond, his name evading Roy's adrenalin-high-mind. The guy was big, like The Hulk, and dropped like a boulder to the floor. A very ugly boulder. The boy, although free, was dragged down with him, and pushed himself up quickly. He began towards the only guy left, Jumpy, but Roy caught his arm.

" Let us handle this, kid." He advised sternly as the boy sqirmed.

" That's my partner out there! You can't expect me to just stand here!" The boy retorted, twisting around in Roy's grip to face him.

" I can, I do and you will. She's in more danger if you get in the way." With that he started forward to Jumpy, leaving the kid seething in his wake. Signalling to Hughes, who nodded back, they advanced on the guy. When they were both about three paces from him, Roy felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end and he spun around.

The Hulk smashed into the ground with a horrendous crash, and the blond kid was behind his bulky form with a grin on his face. A vase was strewn across the floor in a million shards, and it was apparent that the boy had smashed it over Hulk's head. Turning just in time, Roy saw Jumpy as he threw 'Winry' at Hughes and they tumbled to the ground in a tangled heap, Jumpy sped past him towards the open back exit.

" Damn!" He cursed, running after the crook. He could hear footsteps thunking behind him, echoing through the bank's back corridoors now that they were away from the main reception. A doorway of outside light shone from the end as they turned a bend, and Jumpy found a new spurt of energy that widened the gap between him and Roy.

The wail of sirens cut through the rhythmic stomping of feet, and Jumpy skidded to a halt as the lights found their way to the door once seen as freedom. Dark shapes of policemen blocked the doorway, and Jumpy turned. He was cornered.

In a last ditch attempt at freedom, he ran towards Roy, pushing him out of the way. Roy clutched at the man and held him back as he fought with nail and tooth. It was with surprise that Roy noticed the boy there again, taking hold of the guy's other arm that was flailing about and just being a general nuisance. A kick in the stomach caught him off guard, and he found himself winded and doubled over. With the butt of his gun, Jumpy smacked the boy around the face, sending him flying. Every swear word he knew ran through Roy's head as his back up raced up the hallway towards them.

" That way." He told them, throat straining against the pain that was slowly ebbing away. He crawled over to the boy, body recovering, and saw at once that he had lost consciousness thanks to the blow. He shook him, calling.

" Wake up. Come on, wake up, it's not gonna' be good if you go and get concussion on me!" He said, more to himself than to anyone else. He didn't think for a minute it was what a professional would do in his position, but it worked and the boy opened half lidded eyes.

" What happened?" He asked groggilly.

" You got thunked by a thug. Need some help walking?" Roy offered his hand, but it was smacked away and he shrugged. Using the wall, the blond heaved himself up and moved slowly back towards the reception area. " I guess I was wrong, huh? Thanks for taking out that guy back there." Said Roy. The boy grunted, holding a hand to his head.

" Looks like it was a good thing I didn't just 'stand there.'" He replied. Suddenly, he slipped down quickly towards the floor. Roy rushed forward and caught him, helping him back up.

" There'll be ambulances with the back up crew." Roy promised, pulling the boy's arm around his shoulders and bracing his hand around the slender waist. The blond shook his head, looking rather dizzy for a moment.

" No, I don't need that kind of medical attention. I'll wake up in a minute." He explained, desperately trying not to blush at their close proximity.

" Alright then, but don't blame me if you collapse." Roy grinned, and they limped into the reception. The scene that greeted them was one of confusion; customers previously panicked stood around gabbling in huddles, police took statements and cashieres began to make their shaky way back home early. A few officers helped a girl off the top of Jumpy, who was looking uncomfortable beneath her crushed into the floor. The girl was beaming, and her, her friend and Winry all turned in unison as Roy and Ed came into view.

" Ed, you should have seen them! That guy came charging in, his eyes practically bulging out of his head, and Lui pushed over that post there-" She paused briefly to point at a toppled post used for holding up ropes to seperate waiting lines, then continued. " And he fell right over it. Then Ez-chi sat on him to stop him from getting away!" The boy, now identified to Roy as Edward for the second time, raised an eyebrow at Winry as the adrenalin from the danger earlier eagerly rushed to the aid of her chattering skills.

" Are you alright Niisan?" Alphonse popped out of the crowd looking concerned for his brother's wellfare. Ed looked up at his human crutch.

" You can let go of me now." He ordered. Roy smirked and tipped his hat.

" As you wish." He released the blond just as Alphonse reached them.

" Really, brother I can't take you anywhere." Alphonse chided, hands and eyes checking for any sign of injury.

" I'm fine Al, stop fussing. For God's sake, he's worse off than I am." Ed nodded in Roy's direction. Al's face lit up when he recognised him from the rink.

" Mr. Mustang! You never mentioned you worked as part of the police." He smiled, Ed just knotted his brows in confusion.

" You never asked. I take it this is your brother then?"

" Yes, Edward."

" And me." Winry popped up.

" And Winry." Winry stuck out her hand and Roy shook it heartilly.

" It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Winry, but I'm afraid..."

" Hang on, how do you know him?" Ed finally put in his worth, cutting Roy off midway.

" I met him at the rink yesterday, we watched you skate." Ed went red.

" AL! You _know_ I hate people watching practices!" He protested, resisting the urge to clip his brother's ear.

" Well, he was only curious, and you were doing so well..."

" I'm very sorry." Roy interjected. "But I'm still on duty. Perhaps we'll meet again at the Ice Academy sometime. You should just check with a paramedic about that shoulder though, Edward." With a wave, he disappeared into the crowd. He was sure Hughes needed help getting some witness statements, and he could hear Al mothering behind him.

xXxXxXxXxXx

The bank had caught the lot on camera, and Jumpy and Hulk, identified as Ahmed Tiaz and Johnathon Hope, were indefinitely going to be convicted. Unfortunately, due to the number of officers being outmatched by the number of criminals, Slimy had managed to sneak out in the confusion when Roy had chased after Ahmed. He was still unidentified.

At that point in time, Roy sat at his desk with a phone to his ear and the buzz of the police office going on around him.

_" Yeah, you'll get the DNA profile report tomorrow. Or hey, you could come round and get it now. There should be something at the station that I need, a brown parcel. It's my new equipment."_

" I suppose I could. Briefing's in a while anyway, and other than chasing up that DNA report, I've got nothing else to do." Roy said into his crappy black police phone. Underfunded forces left him with bad office equipment and mediocre guns, but they all made do.

_" Great. How soon can you come? I've got some work to do, a new one's just come in."_

" I'll be there in twenty. See you Russell."

" _Later."_ The phone went dead, and Roy hung it back on the hook. Pulling his jacket off the back of his chair, he walked down the corridor and stuck his head into Hughes' office, picking up a parcel labelled '_Autopsy Room 303, T. Russell_' on his way.

" I'm going to the autopsy centre."

" Right-o." Hughes answered, nimble fingers pausing on the keyboard buttons, halting the flow of his report. "I'll need your report for the Cheif Inspector by today."

" It's on my desk, the brown folder. Be back in about an hour." Ducking back out and dodging a hurrying secretary with a stack of papers, Roy slipped his armless black jacket on and jogged down the steps, leaving the stone lions guarding the police station doors behind.

The autopsy centre was a boringly grey building, with a flat roof and a depressing air. It was a building right out of the seventies, built with less funds, it seemed, than the police had in the 20th century. A blonde secretary was behind the desk, her nails being meticulously attended to by her and her file. Roy cleared his throat.

" Take a seat and I'll get to you in a moment." She told him, not looking up even for a second.

" I'm sorry, but I really need to speak to Russell." She looked up, took one look at Roy and changed her entire attitude. A fake smile plastered on her face, she leant forward giving Roy ample view of her cleavage.

" Of course sir, may I take a name?" She batted some eyelashes. Roy smirked.

" Mustang."

" Right Mr Mustang, go right on in. Be quick though, he's about to begin." Blonde hair was swept over one shoulder and she leant on her elbow.

" Thank you."

Pushing through the doors behind the desk, he found himself in a large, cement floored room. White surfaces gleamed, knives shone menacingly beside scalples in silver trays and beakers sparkled in transparent glory. A medical door opened the other end of the room to reveal Russell in a spotless lab coat, pushing a trolley with an ominous sheet-covered lump on it.

" Roy! Thanks for coming." The trolley was pushed to the middle of the room, and Russell took two corners of the sheet with glove-covered hands.

" You're welcome, but I think your secretary has taken a bit too much of a shine to me." Roy grinned and Russell let out a sigh.

" Not another one."

" Yup."

" Can't be helped I suppose, God bestowed us all with odd gifts. Now, take a pair of disposable gloves and help me lift this one onto the table." Roy did as he was bid and took the two corners. Counting down, and heaving the mass of sheets and heavy lump up, they let it back down as gently as they could onto the table.

" Who is it this time?" Roy asked, pulling his gloves off with a 'twang!' of disposable elastic.

" A chinese girl, Ling Ye. Her wallet was still on her. Odd, it didn't seem like a random attack, planned I'd say. But if that was the case then the plan should have included keeping the victim's name unknown for as long as possible, right?"

" You're thinking too much Russell."

" I know, but it's always fun to think beyond forensics once in a while. I've got to get this done, so either play dress up or get behind the screen." (NOTE: I have NO idea what a forensics autopsy room is like. Nor do I know the procedures, so I just guessed, I mean you're not allowed to let anything contaminate the victim of a murder until the autopsy is done. I just assumed that would mean Roy had to don some ugly lab coat or go somewhere where he couldn't disrupt anything. I haven't a clue as to whether or not a room such as the one below exists either.)

Deciding the scientist look was never a good one, Roy opted to leave the autopsy chamber and go to the room next door. It was plain, boring, and only held a chair, but there was a window that let him watch Russell work and an intercom system that they could talk over.

" Age twenty-seven, female, 5'4 foot. Short, dark hair. Daughter of a middle class businessman, he works in the car business. No mother. She was a skater." Russell's voice came, tinny, through the speakers.

" A skater?" Roy asked.

" Yeah, danced on ice. The daughter did too, but I suppose her career's over now. Killed approximately 48 hours and 50 minutes ago. No clear motive at the scene, just a gun shot wound to her chest. She bled to death trying to find some help." Roy winced as the sheet was pulled back and a naked woman, blue in death with glassy eyes, lay cold on the silver table.

Ling Ye, Asian ice-dancing championships runner-up. And Roy's next case.

* * *

(A/N: I know in the last capter I put 'dollar bills', but...I know I'll forget and put pounds in somewhere, so if I do pretend you never read that. Thank you, you're such sweeties, this isn't actually set anywhere that exists anyway...--;. Oh, and Lui and Ez-chi would be me and a friend. I promised her that I'd give us minor, minor parts in this chapter after she said that being saved by Roy and Hughes as police officers would be a fun experience. (: )

I made up the name Ling Ye, and I hope you liked the chapter. YAY done. Be happy, and review!


	3. There's Nothing We Can Do

AN: OH wo is me! You all think so lowly of my writing abilities. This is just to note; Forgetful does not make plot twists easy to guess. You will find I often try my hardest to make you think the opposite of what will happen. ANYWAY. Here we get Ed's thoughts on Roy, he's a little muddled bless him. But Roy's a bit too busy to be thinking about short-fused blonds who catch his attention. ;p Maybe next chapter. YES this is moving slow, but the best cakes are the ones baked with all the time in the world. :)

Disclaimer: The label came off in the wash, I CAN CLAIM FULL METAL ALCH- Butts, there's a logo on the seam. Still not mine.

**Don't Slip on The Splinters**

Chapter 3 - Behind Glass Doors

The brief had been short, as briefs were meant to be. Still Roy wished he had a little more information. He decided to try the crime scene, talk to a few witnesses, get some statements.

And that's where he was. A hotel hallway, sealed off by police tape and floored by shoddy blue carpet tiles. A photogropher packed his camera away near to a wall splattered with dried blood, a wall being studied analytically by Russell.

" 'Scuse me." Roy heard a small, muffled voice behind him and stepped out of the path of, what appeared to be, a pile of moving boxes. The boxes settled themselves on the floor, neatly avoiding the mess, and up popped a mop of scruffy blond hair.

" Oh, sorry Mr. Mustang." Fletcher said, beaming a large grin and popping open a black case at the top of the pile.

" Hey Roy. Wanna' pass me a sample bag?" Fletcher rolled his eyes and handed his brother a box of plastic evidence bags. He then knealt down and spread a pack off tools in front of him, occasionly handing one to his brother, even before being asked.

" So, what killed her in the end?" Roy asked, stepping over the black duffel bag he recognised as Russell's.

" Same as I thought last night, bled to death from a gunshot wound to the upper chest. But look at this." He beckoned the police officer over and waved a hand at a bloody splotch on the wall. "This is an HVIS blood pattern, and here," he jogged over to the opposite end, where the blood stopped and a white outline of a human being was marked in tape. "here we have MVIS and arterial spurting blood patterns. But, get this, she had no bruises other than on her arms and no broken skin aside from the shot wound."

" And in forensics for dummies, that would mean...?"

" HVIS is the blood pattern that shows us where she was standing when they shot her. It's a high velocity impact spatter. The MVIS is a medium velocity impact spatter, something usually caused by beating. Aterial spurting is when an artery that ejects the blood with a high pressure is severed. But, like I said, none of her arteries were cut in a way that would make such a mark, and she had no bruises aside from the forearms. So..." Russell prompted, getting into his idea.

" So...she wasn't the only person attacked that night. There was another victim that either hasn't been reported missing, has been scared into hiding or just hasn't had their body found yet." Roy finished.

" Exactly."

" Any clues as to who they might be?"

" Not a one. That's where your lot go do their thing." Russell used a pair of tweasers to pick up something miniscule from the floor and drop it into a sealable test tube. Roy ran a hand through his hair.

" I'll check who out of her contacts hasn't been seen for a while. Hang on, I'll phone Hughes and get him to talk to the family." Roy pulled out his mobile and dialsed his partner's number.

_" Hughes speaking."_

" It's Roy. Can you ask if the family has noticed any of Ling Ye's friends haven't been around, or if they've been acting strangely?"

_" Sure thing. I was about to go round there anyway. Got a lead then?"_

" Might do, it depends on what they tell you. If not, we're record searching later."

_" Always the highlight of the day, that."_

" Good luck Maes."

_" You too, and tell Russell to get the samples from the Eeling case in by tomorrow would you?"_

" Got it." He hung up without a parting word, and turned to examine the body outline. It showed the corpse had been left leant against the wall, not a natural position for someone to fall into. " Russell, are there any photographs here of the original scene?"

" Not any official ones, but the ones I was using for the report are in my notebook." Russell knelt down and began examining the stained carpet at Roy's feet, and Roy went over to the safety hazard Russell called a bag. He pulled out a black notebook and opened it to the most recent page.

As he thought, she'd been moved.

" That's not right." Fletcher said, handing Roy a photo he must have dropped. Roy hummed his agreement.

" Indeed. Either the body was moved, she gave up and dragged herself there or else she was forced to sit down before the shot was fired."

" She was dragged there." Russell supplied, sitting up from his close observation of the floor. "Still alive. Her heart was still beating, or else the blood flow would be much thinner here."

" Look at the legs." Fletcher pointed. "She wouldn't have had the strength, nor the will to get her legs in line in front of her. Not after losing so much blood."

" So we've established that she was dragged, alive, by another person to this point. But by the attacker or someone else?" Roy studied the scene again, and the photograph in his hand. He couldn't tell. Russell shrugged.

" We'll know by the DNA samples that come in. You'll have them by six this evening. Figerprints are going to be sent in by B department at two fifiteen."

" Alright. Let me know if you find anything...-" Roy felt his phone vibrate, and he pulled it out with a frown. "Excuse me. Hello?"

_" It's me."_

" Found anything from the parents?"

_" No. They don't remember anyone acting oddly. They say she was out rehersing for the next championships most of the time anyway."_

" Oh well. Did you get a phone book or anything?"

_" I got her contacts book, phone numbers, addresses, oh and the techies got her email contacts as well."_

" Alright. I'll come back to the station now. You two all right on your own?" Russell flashed a grin.

" We've been okay this far haven't we?"

" Don't hurt anyone, and bring in the Eeling samples tomorrow. See you Hughes." He flipped shut the phone, waved to the forensic scientist and his budding apprentice and left the Hotel Sparsa.

X

Ed could distinctly feel Rosetta's hand on the small of his back, could hear perfectly her demands that he straighten out his posture, could see Winry wiping her forehead with a towel a skate's step away, and yet he couldn't focus. He kept confusing Rosetta's hand with the one that held him steady as his head lurched, kept seeing that smirk.

God it infuriated him. He wanted to rub out that smirk, erase all thoughts of that face from his mind and climb out of the hole he'd dug himself.

Unfortunately, he only found himself falling further in.

Rosetta had been letting Ed's lack of concentration slide, having been told about the bank incident by Alphonse. None of them really knew what had happend when Ed followed that cop into the inner bank, but Ed hadn't been the same since, and she wasn't going to tolerate it.

" For goodness sake Edward! Do we have to go back to basics?" She snapped as Ed slipped on a salchow. Ed didn't look up from his position on the floor. He wanted to, the cold ice was biting into his legs, and slowly soaking his trousers, but he had no answer for her.

" I'm sorry. Let me try again."

" That's what you've been saying for the last two hours Edward." Rosetta sighed and her face softened. "Is there something you would like to talk about?"

" Yeah, Ed, are you alright?" Winry asked tenderly from behind the choreographer. Ed didn't know what to tell them. That he was Insane, Infuriated, Inevitably losing the plot...

" Are you In Love Edward?" Ed's head snapped up and he glared. Of all the 'in' words...and it had capitals, he could tell just by how Rosetta said it.

" No. Whatever gave you that idea?" He said sharply.

" Oh, the sighs, the faraway looks, the _slumped shoulders._" She stressed this point, having been on at Ed about it for most of the morning.

" That doesn't mean I'm in love."

" Oh my god!" Winry squealed. "Who is it? Is it anyone I know? It's Roze isn't it!"

" No, it's not Roz-"

" Lydia?"

" No!"

" Winry?" Rosetta spoke up, shocking them both. They span round in unison to look at her with wide eyes.

" No way!" "Hell no!" They both yelled at the same time.

" Right?" They then asked eachother. Gathering his wits, Ed finally found cause to get angry.

" I'm not in love with Winry, nor Rose or Lydia or any other girl. I'm just-"

" Is it a guy?"

" GADDAMNIT! I'm taking a time out."

" I think I hit a nerve." Winry said as Ed stalked off, practically ripping the skates from his feet.

" I think you hit the nail on the head." Rosetta replied.

" Really?"

" Maybe. Don't worry, Ed is quick to anger, but he's also the first to apologise and admit his mistakes. He'll come back after he's calmed down." Rosetta assured, watching the door finally finish its swing and shut with an audible click.

" You want me to go say sorry, don't you?"

" It's not about me. If you think that's the right thing to do." Rosetta said vaguely. Winry rubbed the back of her head agitatedly and sighed.

" I'm going to." She glided over to the edge, replaced her white skates with the slippers she brought for breaks and followed Ed.

X

He was sat in the reception, next to the coffee machine that only worked when you gave it a good kick. A phone was pressed to his ear.

" Get back to me as soon as you can, 'kay? Thanks." Impatient fingers hit the 'end call' button, and Ed thrust the phone into his pocket. He saw Winry in the doorway and ran a hand through his hair.

" What?" He asked.

" I'm sorry Ed." When she got no answer, Winry continued, moving closer. "If it's something you don't want to talk about, then I won't mention it again. I know I go overboard sometimes." Ed grunted. _Understatement of the year._ "But I worry, you know? If there's anything that's really bothering you, anything that is hurting you...I know I'm not your favorite person right now but I want to help." The sincere look on her face made the anger in Ed break. There wasn't anything really wrong, he'd worried her and hurt her. It was because he was tired, he had to work on his temper, his shoulder still throbbed painfully...a lot of things that added up to one big outburst. He got up and put his arms around her, holding her tight.

" I know. I'd always come to you if I needed to. I think it's just lots of things building up, cluttering my head as Rosetta would say. I'm sorry I yelled."

" Thanks Ed." She hugged back briefly, then stepped back to look him in the eye. "Now, are you going to tell me what's gone wrong?"

" When I can figure it out myself, you'll be the first to know." He promised. Although it could be years before that happened...

Yay! Chapter 3. Be happy summore.

Thank you for all the inspiring reviews! I'm really gonna try with this now. This will be on pause during december, as I'll be doing my annual Christmas fic, but expect it up and running by january! And hopefully one or two more chapters before November ends.

AND I want lots of reviews as birthday presents! My birthday being on the 27th of Nov. I'll be 15, yay for that. Finally of legal age to buy the FMA DVDs in England. (Not that anyone questioned my age before anyway. ( ", ) Stupid classification, 15 rating my ass. I've seen 12a films worse than Full Metal Alchemist. Sheesh.) Thanks for reading! Hope you all enjoyed, please send a present via the purple button below. Arigatou.

And wish me luck on my physics GCSE! Ew, maths and science comined, what bastard thought that up?


	4. But Play Cops and Robbers

AN: Chapter 4 is heeeeeere! **My Maths GCSE tomorrow...**Heh, and I'm here substituting revision with fanfiction. All is well. Meh, it's here now, off we go!

Disclaimer: That logo is still there. So I got employed by Squaresoft, and will rise up trough the ranks like Roy until I own it! Then I'll own, not only my beloved FMA, but also things like Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts 2. (Which totally rocks BTW, I don't play games, but I got hooked on this one.)

**Don't Slip on The Splinters**

Chapter 4 - a story by Forgetful

Roy sat in the Ice Academy's cafe, papers and reports strewn across the round table in front of him. His notebook was slowly filling up, and yet still didn't really have anything of use in it. Running his hand through his hair for the umpteenth time, leaving it looking stylishly messy, he was reaching for his stylophone coffee cup when he heard his name called across the room.

" Mr. Mustang!" Al wove through tables toward him, and Roy slipped some of the more classified files into his ringbinder.

" Good morning."

" 'Morning. What have you been doing then? Did they catch all the thieves at the bank?" Al asked, politely waiting to be offered a seat.

" All but one, but they're tailing him now and are quite close to an arrest. Please, sit down."

" Thanks." Al pulled out a chair and sat, placing a bottle containing strawberry smoothie on the table and grinning.

" Mother!"

" Mustang!" The word rang out simultaniously, and both Al and Roy winced before searching for the source of the sound. Roy rolled his eyes at the sight of his short mother in law, but they then widened as his ex-wife followed her looking irritated.

Coifed, blonde hair and a pinstripe suit, skin sporting a healthy glow from her recent holiday, she looked...radient. He could almost forget why they had broken up.

" Sarah." He said simply.

" Roy." She echoed, taking her mother's arm.

" You set him straight my girl." The old woman said proudly, nodding at Sarah from behind her large fur collar. Sarah simply sighed in response and gave Roy a look he couldn't read.

" Have you been well Roy?" She asked honestly, her mother blanching. It was then Roy noticed the bags under her eyes, and the gaunt set to her face. She was still beautiful, but they hadn't been there a month earlier, she hadn't suffered them before the official divorce.

" I've been better, but I'll cope." A silence settled between them until the metallic tune of Sarah's phone interrupted. She groped in her bag for it and, once it was grasped in her hand, she gave Roy that unreadable look again.

" Goodbye Roy, take care." She told him before answering the phone and walking off, her enraged mother following. Roy stared after her until she was lost in the crowd.

" You too Sarah." Letting out a long sigh, Roy turned back to the table, the world seeming that little bit darker.

Al looked with concern on the police officer across from him, and pushed the newly-arrived, fresh coffee toward him.

" Are you okay?" He asked earnestly. Roy sighed again and gave a wan smile.

" Yeah, I'll live." He took the coffee gratefully. "Thanks." Al was silent for a few moments, wanting to know more, to help, but not able to think of a polite way to ask. Roy suddenly gave a small bitter laugh. "We were married not so long ago, it seems hard to believe."

" May I ask what went wrong?" Al questioned quietly.

" We grew apart, that's what our marriage councellor told us. He said that a lifestyle with so much friction couldn't hold up, but it wasn't like that at the beginning. It never is. Don't make that mistake Alphonse, always think before you make a commitment you can't keep." Al nodded sadly.

" You still care for eachother." Roy shrugged.

" I know I do, but it can never be the same. And that godforsaken mother of hers isn't helping." Al lowered his eyes to the table top and smiled.

" I can't imagine you'll be alone after this. I'm sure no-one will take her place, but from what I've seen of you...You care Mister Mustang. About people. Someone perfect will find you through that quality and heal your heart." Al finished up and looked Roy in the eye.  
" I hope you're right." Roy replied.

" Roy!" Well, he _was_ popular today. Hughes pushed through the crowd at the checkout and reached the table. "We've found a link on the case. Searg wants us to check it out now." He nodded a greeting to Al.

" Alright. Goodbye Alphonse, thanks for your advice." He pulled on his jacket, picked up his ring binder and stalked from the cafe.

X

The moment he got behind the wheel Hughes began explaining.

" They've found that there's been no recent sightings of Ling Ye's skating partner. He's Omi Chikawari." Hughes tossed a brown folder from the back seat into Roy's lap for inspection. Opening it revealed a photograph of a young asian with a large, unruly mop of dark hair and an award winning smile. "No-one heard anything from him for a few days, the families of him and Ling Ye assumed he was in mourning. Apparently they were close."

" What do we think then? Is he a victim we should be looking out for?"

" Maybe. Right now we're focussing on him as a main suspect. Lovers quarrel, change in partners, perhaps she even wanted to leave Omi and skating behind and he wasn't going to lie down and let her."

" Hmm." Roy agreed. It was possible, and Omi's quick dissappearance certainly suggested he didn't want to be associated with the death of his partner. They had a runner. Hughes turned into a side road and parked outside a grubby set of flats. Supermarket trollies and plastic bags were scattered around like some sort of decoration, burnt out cars adorning the patch of unmown grass known as a park.  
" Chikawari lives on the second floor. He may be there, even though neighbours have reported no sign of anyone living in the apartment. It seems it isn't unusual for him to disappear for days on end. We have a key and a warrant if he isn't." Locking the car they pushed through the grubby doors and weren't stopped by the malfunctioning intercom system. Ascending the stairs, Hughes overstepped a pile of cardboard boxes and knocked sharply on a door that meant to say 36 but was missing the three.

" Mister Chikawari?" Hughes sighed and pulled a set of keys from his pocket. "We're coming in with a warrant Sir." He put the keys in the lock and with a click they were in.

The apartment was pleasent after the train-wreck that was outside. Newly laid, plush cream carpet, mahogony tables and a clean kitchen. It was small, but it was also stylish and organised.

" Mister Chikawari?" Hughes tried again, checking the dark bedroom. No-one home.

" Lets take a look around then." Roy said, removing his hat and placing it on the table. Rolling up his sleeves, he picked up a file from the desk in the far corner of the room and flicked through. Skating moves, stars, leaflets on the upcoming Winter Olympics, names of those facing Chikawari and Ling Ye in competitions...Nothing. Putting the folder on the left, uncluttered side of the desk, he went to the next one.

Hughes searched the bedroom, noticing the many pictures of Ling Ye and Chikawari on the walls and dresser. On the bedside table was a mobile phone, he was drawn to it when it let out a pitiful beep.

" Roy..." He called, taking it through to the other room. Roy looked up from his reading. " He left his phone in his room." The thing let out another dying bleep as it protested about its battery.

" If he was running, he wouldn't take it. We could track him through it, most people know that, he probably left it on purpose."

" There's a message from Ling Ye on it. Wouldn't he usually have answered that, or at least read it, before he went to kill her? If he even did." Roy thought this over, placing the file in his hands down and open at his page. Suddenly, the computer fired up, static crackling.

" What the...?"

" You knocked the mouse with the file." Hughes pushed past him to look at the screen. It lit up fully to show him a hotmail page, open on an email from IOU1 at hotmail dot com. "Listen." Hughes said, reading the email.

_" You still haven't delivered what we asked. We can't afford to lose any more by your faults, but we both know that what we lose will be nothing compared to you. Our advice follows thus; prepare for a loss."_

" Vague." Roy replied, frowning. "There isn't much to go on there, but it's a very thinly veiled threat certainly."

" He's left his phone in his room, his computer on and his email logged in. What does that suggest?"

" He was prompted into leaving swiftly." Roy closed the file and placed it on top of the rest before taking the computer mouse. There was an unfinished game of mine sweeper and a report on the pairs' progress half written.

" By the fact he'd murdered his dancing partner or by this threat form IOU1." Hughes wrote down something in his notebook before pressing print on the report and the email. "Let's take these back to the station." He walked to the window. "The techies can trace the email address and we can get Ella to analyse...Hey!" He suddenly yelled. Grabbing his hat he sped out of the door and down the stairs, the printer still whirring. Rushing to the window to check the situation, Roy almost laughed when he saw Hughes chasing some giggly teenagers away from the police car. Taking the papers from the machine he turned it off, leaving the computer as it was. He flipped the latch on the door and left the apartment of Omi Chakawari.

X

" Damn kids." Hughes swore when Roy walked up to him. Down the drivers' side of the car were three long scratches, probably made by keys, and 'pigs' was carved into the other side. Roy sighed.

" I suppose we'll tell the next lot that come up here to park a few streets away. Although walking in might be just as dangerous." He got into the car and buckled the seat belt.

" At least we can go home after this is done." Hughes said in relief. He took the wheel and they sped away from the estate.

X

He missed her. Well, obviously not the arguments, the glaring matches and the fights, but the talk and the companionship. Who knew divorce could make you so lonely? He supposed he'd just got used to another person being in his house.

The TV was something he'd come to dispise aswell. But here he was, watching it, not feeling motivated anough to make a meal and so just munching on some kashew nuts. He could almost laugh at himself, he sounded so pitiful. Pathetic.

That was almost enough to get him up, to get him to pick up the phone and call someone, anyone, maybe even Sarah. What a shame the doorbell rang right in the middle of his sudden development. He got up as slowly as possible, just to spite the interruption, and opened the door with a dark look.

" Hullo!" Hughes waved at him. Pushing past him, Riza Hawkeye placed some steaming bags on the table. And, to Roy's ultimate surprise, Alphonse and Edward were at the back. Alphonse smiling and Ed looking just as dark as himself.

" I knew you'd be eating crap, Mustang. Don't give me that I've-got-a-completely-valid-right-to-be-depressed-I'm-a-man-who-just-screwed-up-his-own-marriage look, get your head out of your drool and get over here." Riza ordered, snapping what looked like a menu on the table like a whip. "Fetch plates. Now!"

Hughes grinned and ushered the Elric brothers inside the house, shutting the cold March air out with the door.

From the bags Riza pulled delicious packets of chinese food, handing them to Roy to put into plates and bowls.

" Why are you here?" He asked, distractedly scraping noodles from their box.

" Couldn't have you letting yourself go." Riza replied, waving a knife at him.

" I met Alphonse here earlier, he said you seemed distant. You were acting out of it today. We were worried about you Mustang, it's what friends do." Maes finished by slapping an arm around Roy's shoulders. "And on that note, Gracia wanted to come but she had to help out with a birthday party a friend of Elysia's is having." Roy let out a ghost of a smile.

" Thank you then."

And that's all you're getting. Because now I have to go look for the internet cable to post this, because my stupid parents have put it somewhere. Probably because I 'spend my whole life on That Computer'. Damn adults. They think they know everything, because GOING OUT TO PLAY NETBALL OR SOMETHING IS SO GOING TO ENRICH MY LIFE! Not. Okies, rant over, review onegai!


	5. We Want A Revolution

AN: Hey, this is actually progressing. :grin: Hopefully I'll finish this one. Heh. **My Biology GCSE on Monday**, sheesh, will the torture never cease? I can't write over all this homework/revision! Anyway, this is written slightly out of my usual writing style. Dunno why, just is...Ah well, relationship building is soooo boring. Just want to jump to the hugs and the kisses. :D

Disclaimer: Not mine. Don't claim to own it, doesn't have anything to do with the original, I just borrowed the characters for a while and forced them to do my bidding. :evil grin: You know you like it really.

:) WARNING: Minor fluff alert.

**Don't Slip On The Splinters**

Chapter 5

The dirty plates were stacked in the dishwasher, the beer had been taken from the fridge and yells were erupting from the living room. Riza whooped as she beat Hughes at the playstation game they were abusing for the fifth time.

" I was going easy on you." Hughes insisted. "I'll definitely kick your butt this time."

" You said that the last four times we've played, but if you want me to beat you again..." Riza plopped another game into the station.

" That's it, I need backup. Roy! Get over here." Hughes barked, motioning for Roy to sit next to him on the floor. Roy did as he was bid.

" Fine." Riza agreed. "Ed, you any good at video games?"

" Are you kidding? In school kids used to pay money to try and beat him." Al grinned.

" Al, shut up..." Ed grumbled.

" I get Ed!" Riza yelled happilly, the effects of the alcohol making her slightly more outgoing than usual. "Come sit by me blondie." Roy smirked.

" Just try and beat me squirt." He challenged.

" WHO ARE YOU CALLING A BEAN SO SMALL AN ANT COULDN'T EVEN USE IT IN A SALAD? " Edward retorted.

" He didn't say that Brother..."

" Prepare for your arse to be delivered to you on a platter Mustang!" Ed said, plopping down beside an overjoyed Riza.

" That's the spirit!" She encouraged. Taking up the controller, she began dealing out another dish of butt-whoop to Hughes.

" Right, now click X. That's it. There's a power boost on that ledge there, good, hit her from above." Roy lead Hughes through all the moves, yet even after all his expert help, Hughes still lost.

" Damnit, get her for me Roy." Controller in hand, Roy gave Riza an evil look, then pressed start. Fingers flew over the buttons, and the pixalated character on screen began to batter Riza's battle goddess.

" To much power...Damn you for having too much spare time! Ed!" She paused the game suddenly. "Live up to your brother's expectations." She thrust her hand-held at him and he took it with an evil grin much like Roy's own.

" Sure." Much graphic computer violence ensued, so much that the description that used to be here had to be axed. Characters bled in a massacre of pixelated lives, and eventually Roy's character went to the great video game in the sky. "Now who's a squirt?" Ed highfived Riza.

" Nice one kid! No-one's EVER beaten Roy."

" Rookie luck..." Roy defended, nursing his wounded pride.

" Old age getting to you, I suppose."

" Hey, I'm only twenty-four."

" Yeah, and I'm God of the Underworld."

" Well at least my character wasn't a girl."

" No, but your character got beaten by a girl."

" You're a girl? I mean I saw the signs but I never really thought..."

" Stop twisting my words!"

" You started it."

" You deserved it!"

" He hasn't argued like this since I first introduced him to Sarah." Hughes whispered quietly to Riza beside him, both watching the unfolding friendly battle before them.

" You're right. You don't think...?" She replied, keeping her voice just as low.

" I do."

" _Oh_." Alphonse crept between the two fighters and began to placate them, realising it was simply good natured banter rather than a full blown argument. Riza let out an uncharacteristically evil grin. "Then I do believe we should help."

" I agree. In fact, I nominate Roy to go fetch more alcohol!" Riza caught on quickly to Hughes' plan.

" I nominate Ed!"

" No way." Roy protested, Ed behind him pulling a face. "You've already taken over my house, if you're thirsty you can get your own damn beer."

" But I brought the first batch!" Hughes argued. "Besides, they'll never serve Ed."

" What's that supposed to mean?" The blond cried indignantly.

" Oh just go, the both of you!" Al ordered, marching them both out of the house. He closed the door firmly and turned to face the other two in the room, brushing his hands together as though completeing some necessary task. " I can't stand bickering." He explained, flicking his ponytail over his shoulder.

X

Out in the cold street, two very uncomfortable males decided walking was better than standing around freezing to death. Ed was distinctly aware of the man beside him, so casual now compared to their first meeting in the middle of an ambush, and kept a respectful distance away.

" You're a very talented ice-skater." Ed want red, muttering some form of thanks whilst at the same time grunmbling about Alphonse not respecting his privacy. "But you don't seem to take compliments to well." He chuckled warmly.

" Half the time people don't mean them." Ed replied absently, trying to clear the pink tinge from his cheeks.

" I've never said something I didn't mean." Roy countered, smiling slightly.

" Well, thanks. I guess. You handled that situation at the bank pretty well yourself, Al told me you've almost caught everyone involved." Roy frowned.

" All but one." He admitted. He took Ed's elbow to lead him down an alley toward the nearest co-op and the blond found himself heating up again. If such simple contact could make his heart race, what did that mean? It was a just hormones, right? He wasn't...he wouldn't admit it was anything else.

The lights of the shop spilled out of the large windows onto the inky black pavement. They passed through these pools of gold into the warm, recirculated air of the small shop. Following his senior, Ed looked around whilst fumbling in his back pocket for some spare change. He was hungry and chips seemed a good option.

" Hey Mustang, you've got a stray following you." A rumble came from behind them. Turning in unison with Roy, Ed saw it was a man, predictably taller than him, and with long dark hair spilling in a ponytail down his back. He had a predatory smirk on his lips and he leered at them confrontationally.

Roy didn't grace his comment with a reply, simply choosing to turn away and ignore the disturbance. The man instead turned from him to study Ed, who bristled in turn at the scrutiny.

" Something on my face?" Ed barked irritably.

" Fiesty, huh? Didn't know you were into kids Mustang." He jeered boarishly. "Thought you had more honour, I mean, replacing your wife so quickly with such a pipskeak..." Ed was mortified, fuming. He found himself so angry he was unable to speak, instead left scowling. Roy's hand clenched tightly around the can he'd been inspecting, and he took in a deep, shuddering breath.

" My life is none of your concern Kimbley." He said in a strained voice, taking a four pack and storming past the amused intruder. Kimbley simply laughed as they left him and went to pay for the drinks in silence.

" Are you okay?" Ed asked the moment they were out of the shop.  
" Fine. I'm sorry you had to see that though, he's not a nice guy." Edward snorted.

" Asshole, more like. I could've wrung his neck there and then for what he said. I've only known you, what, a week? And already you're the most honourable guy I know. And he called me a kid, I'm not that young. I don't _look_ that young, right?" Roy looked down at the infuriated blond and pulled up a smile.

" No."

" Exactly. Bastard." Ed looked up when Roy started to laugh outright. Real, hearty laughter .

" What?" Ed asked, confused by the sudden change of mood.

" I don't know...I just found your rant funny, so I laughed." Ed scowled. "Perhaps I need to be around you more often, somehow you make me happier...We got it!" Roy waved at Hughes who was on the doorstep, shaking the bag with the bottles and cans in it as they reached the house. Edward hung back a little.

_Somehow, you make me happier..._

Somehow...He knew that Roy made him happier too.

X

The next day, they forced Roy out again. This time to a place he didn't really mind, the Ice Acadamy greeted him with a buzz of noise from the skiing competition as they entered its doors. Al and Riza had coerced Ed into allowing them to watch his practise session that day, having already arranged it with a delighted Winry, and he'd even been forced into teaching the lot of them some scating moves when they were done. It promised an interesting afternoon.

The two glided through their practise, seemingly improved thanks to the pressures of an attentive audience. Rosetta was very pleased with their progress, they heard her exclaim it so many times, Ed wondered if it was possible to progress any more.

" You guys are amazing." Riza told them. "But now you've gotta teach me how to do that."

" Skates are over there." Winry beamed, loving the attention. Hughes and Roy were already pulling on their ice skates at the side of the rink, and Hughes stood shakilly on the ice, gripping the edge dramatically.

Oddly, Roy amazed them all by stepping onto the ice and soaring to the middle. Hughes mock-glared at him.

" How come you can do everything so easilly?" He asked. Roy just shrugged with a smirk.

" Just talent."

" He's lying." Riza joined him on the rink. "We used to go as kids. Nothing as fancy as the two of you," She inclined her head toward Ed and Winry. "But we do know some things. Now, how about those spins you were going to show us?"

" Us?" Roy queried.

" Hell yes, you're doing it too. In fact, you guys start first, Winry, Rosetta and I need to go help Hughes find his feet." Roy turned to Ed as the girls went to the aid of a whining Maes-in-distress. Ed cleared his throat and held out his hand.

" Come on, I'll show you a simple spin." Inwardly debating, Roy shrugged and took the offered hand. It was warm, Ed had a strong grip and used the connection to keep him steady. "Right foot forward, put all of your weight onto that leg, now turn. Okay, that's good, just keep the other leg bent." Roy did it again. "Yeah, that's right." Practising it a few times, he built up the nerve to go a little faster. He span round four times, quite good he thought, until he was stopped by something solid. Stumbling, he caught onto Ed's sleeve and they only stayed upright by holding on to one another.

" Heh, sorry." Roy said, gently removing his grip from the blond boy's arms. Ed had turned pink again; it was going to be a very long practise.


	6. And We're Baying For Your Blood

A/N: Alright my lovelies, FORGETFUL IS BACK! I finally found a way to transfer my 'fics' folder to my old computer after a virus decimated my laptop. (It's off for repairs now...come back soon baby! Send it some get well soon cards, would ya?) I might lose all my manga downloads! T.T Ah well.

SO, the fic is back on the road, sorry for the wait! Thanks for your patience. :bow:

**Disclaimer:** If it was owned by me, I would have had enough money for an antivirus. See, it belongs to whoever wrote it. I won't pretend to know who that is...

**Don't Slip on the Splinters**

Chapter 6

Roy was having a good morning. Despite a slight hangover and a forboding feeling in the far reaches of his mind, he found himself in high spirits, most likely due to a night of alcohol, drunken skating and a spicy blond. It might also have had something to do with said blond having lost a bet, and thus being due to visit with Roy's lunch at twelve thirty. Life was good.

However, even though he entered the police station in such an inexplicably good mood, he noticed the grim looks. Men and women in uniform nodded at him somberly as he passed -slightly later than he should have been due to a late night, admittedly- and he hurried to Hughes for an update.

" What's going on? He asked, slipping into his swivvel chair and placing his morning Starbucks coffee on the desk.

" Ah." Hughes began, turning to face him fully. " Searg said to give you these." He grabbed some photos off his desk and handed them to Roy reverently. Giving him a questioning look, Roy got no answers and so simply looked down at the shots in his hands. A man. Pictures of his back covered in deap, slowly healing wounds, of his feet, one of which was missing toes, of hands with fingernails savagely torn free and teeth and hair knocked, torn and ripped away. And then his face, the face of a young man, a young chinese man.

Omi Chikawari.

Roy suppressed a sick look, instead scowling darkly at the images. "Where did they find him?"

" A woman phoned police services after she found him bleeding, rocking back and forth in a trainstation. We can't get any information out of him." Hughes sighed and leant back in his chair with a creak. "We can't link it to Ling Ye either, he's still a suspect, but with the wounds he's sustained we're beginning to focus outside her social contacts."

" Is it possible someone did this to him as revenge for her murder?"

" Well, yes, but all of their contacts have been under servaillence, and he's been missing since before the body was discovered. No-one was able to contact him afterwards. It's likely he was present at the murder though, there are traces of Ling Ye's blood on nearly all articles of his clothing."

" I see." Roy looked down at the pictures in his hand again. "Where is he?"

" Westfield Hospital, room 336. Serg said he wanted you down there as soon as possible, but I warn you, he's in a bad way." Roy nodded and turned to leave the way he'd entered but minutes before.

Alphonse always had trouble waking up his older brother, but that morning seemed to have put the blond into one of the most foul moods he'd experienced for quite a while. He watched Edward grumble sleepilly, snatching up clothes and storming into the bathroom, no doubt to violently scrub away any plaque that dare defy Colgate and congregate on his pearly whites.

Really, his brother needed to learn to take things more gracefully. He sighed. Surely Ed would be better after breakfast; good food almost always put the older Elric in a better state of mind. So he began on the pancakes, wondering not for the first time how anyone could eat something so sweet so early.

" Stupid curtains...Always let in light...Damn job is to _stop_ light coming in..."

" Good morning Brother." He received a non-committal grunt in reply. "I made your favourite." Ed sighed heavilly and looked at the pancakes placed in front of him with mild interest.

" Morning, but not good in the slightest." Al smiled slightly at the grumpy reply.

" Really, why could this morning be worse than any other?" He asked. Ed glared hotly.

" Have you forgotten already? Once this morning ends I have to take lunch to that bastard like some damn fetching dog!" Ed stabbed his pancakes with his fork savagely, Al felt sorry for the poor things. "Who does he think he is? Noodles indeed. It was a bet! He can't ask me to do something so _degrading_ just because I was wrong once. It's pure stupidity."

" Brother, stop massacring the pancakes, they did nothing to you. Besides, this time I can't side with you. It was your own fault." Al avoided the glare thrown his way by taking his plate and stacking it in the dishwasher. "Mother always said you had to honour any agreement you made. I hope you're not forgetting that, or I might have to tell Winry..." Ed looked up from his syruppy sacrifice in horror.

" No, no I won't dishonour it...I'm just not doing it willingly is all." He swore hastilly.

" That's good Brother. Now, go get dressed so that you're not late. You know how long you take when you're in one of your moods."

" Hmph, fine..."

The hospital was a traditional white-tinted, toilet-cleaner-scented, prim and proper affair. Roy heard his shoes squeek on the floor, out of place compard to the quiet murmer of doctors and nurses, and the stiff silence of strangers waiting to be treated. The secretary was an old woman with grey skin and garish purple glasses strung onto a necklace of yellow beads; he resisted the urge to wrinkle his nose at the bad colour combination.

" I'm here to see Omi Chikawari, police investigation." He flashed his badge and watched her purse her thin lips in surprise.

" Room 336 Sir." She told him in a voice worn by years of smoking. "Doctor Lenning should be finished in five minutes."

" Thank you." He avoided a young nurse wobbling with a stack of papers -how like his office this place was- and walked purposfully toward the patient rooms. The door, when he reached it, was open, and through it sunlight streamed from the room's large window.

Chikawari was on the bed looking tired and beaten, apparently trying to answer the young doctor at the end of the bed as quickly as possible so that he could return to sleeping. How unfortunate that Roy was going have to postpone that a little longer. He knocked.

" Can I help you?" The doctor asked, turning so quickly his long, dark ponytail flicked out behind him, barely avoiding whipping his face with a practiced ease.

" Yes, I'm Officer Roy Mustang, I'm here to see Omi Chikawari." Omi groaned from the bed and the doctor motioned for Roy to step back into the hallway. He closed the door gently.

" I'm Doctor Zak Lenning, I've been assigned to Omi Chikawari for the next few weeks. I think we should probably go over this now, but he's phsycoloicaly unstable according to our phsycologist, so it's probably wise not to discuss it in front of him." He consulted his notes for a moment, pushing a thin pair of glasses up onto their proper position on his nose. Roy couldn't help but think he was incredibly young for a doctor, but then, he was young for a police officer. It was a strange world.

" Multiple abrasions to legs and arms, bruising and deep cuts. All but three ribs are brocken, a fractured hip, four toes, two teeth and an earlobe are missing and all his nails have been removed. There are deep slashes on his back which look like they were cause by a...a whip." Zak paused and took a shuddery breath, dropping his sheet and letting his clipboard and hand fall to his side. "Sir, what happened to him?" He asked, professional facade dropped to show a side which was sickened and caring. "It looks as though he's been abused..._tortured_."

" I don't know yet, but we're going to find out and the guys who did it are going to rot somewhere dark for as long as possible." Roy answered with conviction. The doctor somberly nodded, and after a second smiled bravely.

" That's good, I wish you all the luck I can. Until you find the bastards, here's Chikawari's health sheet, it's all I can help with. He's dosed up on morphine for the pain, so you probably won't get a lot out of him, but he should be well enough to answer most questions. Go easy though, Mr. Mustang. I'll be in my office, room 74 in the main building, should you need anything."

" Thank you." Roy nodded, and steeling himself, entered the room.

Omi Chikawari looked at him wearilly.

" What?" He asked, voice groggy.

" What indeed. I'm here to find out if you're an unfortunate bad guy or a victim."

" I don't understand." Chikawari put a hand to his forhead, staving off a headache.

" Sorry, I'm officer Roy Mustang. I'm investigating a murder and it seems that you're involved, we want to know what you do, to catch whoever did this." Roy quietly took a seat, making sure to keep his voice soft and determined.

" She's dead then? After all that, she's still dead. My beautiful Ling Ye..." A single tear traced a path down his cheek.

" I'm sorry. We're going to get the bastards, I promise." Roy watched as Omi gave a small nod, turning toward him with slightly unfocussed eyes.

" Thank you. I watched it you know. The wanker shot her, an undefended woman. I moved her, sat her up, tried to stop the bleeding. She was slipping even before they issued their demands."

" Who, who else was there?" Roy pushed slightly, still keeping his voice at a low, comforting rumble. Omi shrugged.

" Hired thugs. Street muggers, sickos. I've never seen them before."

" Who were they working for?" Roy asked.

" I'm sorry." Omi began, resignedly. "I can't tell you."

" You have to, it's essential information; with that we could catch these bastards within a month."

" No, no if I tell you they'll come for me. They'll do worse than they already have, they'll kill more of the people I love." His hand clenched, straining the drip cable.

" We can stop that happening, There are programs, witness protection programs. You and everyone else in danger wil be kept in hiding until the worst is past."

" They have eyes everywhere. They _will_ find me." Roy was silent, then he sighed.

" Alright." He looked at his watch; twelve twenty-two. "I have to leave now, but I'll be back before two. Just consider releasing the information you have, to resume justice, to save other innocent girls like Ling Ye." Omi shook his head.

" I won't tell you, but the reason I _can _talk about. It's because we owed them. We owed them money, and we owed them talent. Unfortunately our luck ran out." He looked away from Roy and out of the window, watching the cars locked in traffic jams below.

"What do you mean?" Roy asked.

" Research the Icecrystal Tournament. That's already more than I should tell you." Omi refused to look in his direction again, and Roy found himself getting frustrated. He didn't say anything though. _Don't blow it, we need this information and I can't be the one to lose any chance of receiving it._ "Goodbye Mister Mustang." Well, maybe a break would help him hold his tongue and avoid complete failure. Roy left the room.

His notebook contained about as much information as it had when he'd entered. Hughes was going to kill him.

Ed was sent to the hospital by the police force at Roy's office. Idiots. Constantly looking at him and tittering about how 'cute' he was and whether or not he was Roy's usual type. He didn't want to know damnit!

Okay, so maybe he did. But that didn't give all those jerks the right to gossip about it.

So now he was walking up to Westfield Community Hospital, wondering how he was going to find the bastard policeman and have a rant in his direction about how he could have mentioned being six miles away from the original meeting place. Because of this Ed didn't buy the noodles. Oh no, he was going to insist Mustang buy _him _something instead for making him come such a long way.

He was saved the long search as he noticed Roy lounging against a wall beside the hospital's revolving doors.

" Oi, bastard, fancy getting the address right next time?" Ed called, frowning as he walked toward the smug police officer.

" What's this? I don't see noodles."

" No, you bloody well don't. If you'd picked a place near to the noodle bar, maybe you'd have got some, but no, you just had to make it harder." The blond had reached him by then, and he punched him on the arm. Roy just laughed.

" That's a good excuse. We can go someplace else, but don't think I'm paying for it."

" _You made me walk all this way and..."_

" You lost the bet Ed." Roy shrugged with a grin. " Come on; there's a nice place down the road from here, a cafe. You won't have to walk far."

" Humph." Was Edward's only reply.

The cafe was small, but it was also light, homely, empty of people and filled with cakes too. The old lady behind the counter smiled at them warmly.

" Take any table you like, menus are in the basket, Petal." She told Ed. _Petal...What does she think I am? Five years old?_

" Edward, stop frowning. That was not an indirect way of calling you short."

" I AM NOT...!" Ed counted to ten, taking a deep, calming breath. "I am _not_ short." He gave the best glare he could -successfully resembling an angry chipmunk- and pulled out a chair thrusting the menu in Roy's direction. His pride stubbornly refused to let him look at Roy's self-saisfied face, and so settled his gaze on a _very_ attractive looking cream cake.

" Well I suppose an apology is in order. I got called down here on urgent business, a major witness in a murder case I'm working on was just found."

" I guess, if it's for the safety of women and children against axe-murderers and all that, then you might just be forgiven..." Ed grumbled.

" I'm glad to hear it. Besides, now we have an excuse for another date to be set." Roy winked at him and Ed felt himself go bright red.

" D-date?"

" Are you ready to order Dearies?" The small old lady stood beside their table with a notepad and a smile. Roy turned to her as if nothing abnormal had been mentioned.

" Yes, I'll have two BLTs (1) and that lovely looking cream cake over there." Ed started at the mention of his cake.

" Of course, back in a moment."

" Why'd you have to buy the cake?" Roy raised an eyebrow as Ed demanded.

" It seemed to have captured your attention so fully that I thought it had earned the right to be bought." _That and it was taking all your attention off me, but that's a bridge we'll cross when we come to it._

" Oh, for me?"

" Yes, and since you came such a long way, I'll pay for your cake." Roy pulled off his police jacket and laid it on the floor; people always felt uneasy around a policeman in full uniform.

" I thought you were refusing to pay for anything?"

" Your devotion to the pastry made me have a change of heart." Roy pressed a hand to his chest emphatically.

" Oh, shut up. Anything's better than looking at you." Ed threw back, Roy just laughed as the blond stuck out a little pink tongue.

Later, sandwiches devoured and cake left in crumbs, Ed was dramatically explaining encounters in his past.

" And you know, he was huge! But no way was a guy gonna' bully my little brother and get away with it. Although, I may have _slightly_ overestimated the strength of my eleven year old fighting skills."

" What happened?" Roy asked, anticipating broken bones and expulsions from school.

" I ended up in a ditch with a black eye the size of russia and a wedgie that stretched to its captial." Ed grinned. "But _he _left with a fractured wrist and a lot of nail-scratches, so I think I got the better deal."

" Ha ha, that you did. I still think my run in with the Yorkshire Zoo alpacka was more heroic though."

" Oh whatever, you said it was smaller than this table."

" Ah, but in all fairness, so was I."

" Touche."

" Still, despite the utter joy I feel at hearing about your childhood conquests, it's now 1:47, and I have an interview to complete. So I..." Roy trailed off.

" What?" Ed asked, worried.

" That man..." Roy strained his eye. A man outside in the street, running in a way that proved him guilty right off, and...and a coat that flapped open to reveal a gun at his hip." Shit! He's coming from the hospital, it's that guy from the bank!" Throwing his chair back and pulling on his bullet-proof jacket, Roy dropped some money on the table and ran for the door. It only took three seconds for Ed to register, make a decision...and then get up and follow.

There, chapter 6. :wipes brow: Up all night doing that to make up for four weeks of deadlines missed! (Damn trojan horse virus crap!)

(1) BLT - Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato sandwich. If you don't know these, then you've NEVER LIVED! You must try them, yes:)

Reviews make authoresses type faster. Well, that and Lucazade. Yuuuum...


	7. We're Laying Down The Law

AN: Yay! Another FMA D-SotS chapter at cinemas near you!

BTW: This is gonna be set someplace with laws like England, eg: carrying guns/owning one without a licence is illegal. (It is my personal opinion that this should happen in America too, but you guys can disagree with me on that one...) I would also like to re-illiterate (is that the right word?) The fact that as an AU fic, Ed is an inexperienced fighter and thus reacts to violence as most teenagers would.

I don't own it and I'm sure by now everyone knows that. (Hear that secret police? I CLAIM NO OWNERSHIP! Now get out of my head! lol. Okay, I know, I'm crazy...)

**Don't Slip on the Splinters**

Chapter 7

Slamming the cafe door closed behind him, Roy began to hurriedly work himself through the crowds to the man running ahead.

" Excuse me, police!" He yelled, an attempt to move some of the citizens busilly blocking his way. Finally breaking away from the masses, he lunged forward into a sprint after the lanky looking culprit fleeing away from the town.

Ignoring the houses speeding by either side, he forced himself onward, schooling his heart to make sure he could go on running for as long as possible. Jumping a bin bag, he almost missed the guy when he twisted into a side alley. The alley was littered with bins and boxes, and Roy hurdled over rotting rubbish abandoned by the weekly bin-men, stumbling to regain his balance every now and then. It cheered him slightly that his prey was having the same problem. He caught the slight twist of the head, the man knew he was being tailed. Roy was being tailed also; he could hear the pound of Ed's feet behind him. _Damnit, I'm going to have to force him to stay put, aren't I?_

The alley opened at the end to a pier and the pebbled Cricketh beach. It was empty, rain drizzling slightly and tourist season over. That did make things easier, no hostage situations this time. Except Ed, he'd have to watch out for that.

His eyes widened when the gunman dived behind a rock, and he knew the shot was coming even before he heard it ring out, echoing across the bay.

The force propelled him backwards, feet getting no purchase on the slippery, sea-smoothed stones beneath his feet. Before he could go down, Roy twisted and threw himself backwards, knocking the blond with him and miraculously avoiding the second bullet. Dragging them both behind the cement ramp for the life boats, his hand went to his hip for his pistol...But he wasn't a part of the armed unit today. He was unarmed aside from a baton and a can of mace-spray, fat lot of good those would do against a gun.

" Oh my god..." Ed said, getting his bearings. "You got shot!" He cried, alarmed, pressing with surprisingly gentle fingers against Roy's chest for the wound.

" Ed...Ed, it's okay. I'm wearing a bullet-proof vest. I'll be fine." He assured, lungs still burning and chest smarting from the blow. Ed, finding no blood, seemed to believe him and flung his arms around his neck.

" I've never been so damn scared in my life!" Roy, a little unsure, tentatively returned the hug. More shots were unloaded into the air, and Ed jumped at every one. Feeling responsible, Roy fully embraced him and Ed went bright red despite the situation.

" I promise, we're gonna' get through this just fine. Hold on." The gunfire had stopped. Roy lifted his head, listening to the silence suddenly left in the wake of the tearing bullets. Only the waves crashing against the shore and the cries of gulls overhead broke the spell, and he slowly uncoiled from his cover-spot to check if what his ears were telling him was the truth. Looking back at the blond, who had recoverred and was looking quite sheepish about getting so freaked out, he whispered; "Stay put, I'm going to check if he's gone. Only come out when you hear me give the all clear, okay?" Ed nodded and mimed crossing his heart.

Roy ducked and ran from the ramp to the nearest large rock. Peering out from behind its protection, he looked ahead. Many rocks littered the beach, blocking his view, but from what he could see there was no-one even close to them. Moving cautiously between the looming shapes, he searched for danger meticulously.

Ed waited, nervously expecting a shot more than a call of safety.

_Dear God, if you ever do anything for me, let it be this; please let that guy be gone. Please let Roy be okay..._

" Hey Ed, we lost him!" Ed breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he might just have to go to church as a thank you to the old mighty. Standing up and feeling the strain of having abused his muscles and then stopped, he stretched and looked around for Roy, double checking his declaration of safety.

" Hey Roy, where...?"

"Shit!" He heard. Running toward the direction of the curse, Ed turned the corner at a mad speed. All he saw was Roy angrilly kicking at a rock.

" What?" He asked.

" I lost him. _Again._ I lost the bugger again. I swear, when I find him..."

" Oh come on, you had no gun, no back up and you expected to catch him?"

" I've done it before." Roy answered. Ed just shook his head and took Roy's arm, steering him in the direction they'd come from.

" Come on, lets go to the hospital and get you checked out, I don't trust that ve-wah?"

" The hospital! Of course, I should've seen it. Damn, damn! This is not a good day!" Roy twisted the roles and gripped Ed's hand instead, pulling him along at a run.

" Hey, slow down!"

They reached the hospital in record time, weaving through the cars and parked ambulances toward the double doors. Inside was a mess, a far cry from the order Roy had first seen when he'd entered that morning. People rushing about, the occasional police officer.

" I think we're too late." Roy informed Ed. He noticed the doctor, Zak, out of the corner of his eye, and went to confront him about the situation. " What happened?" He asked, eyeing Zak's arm, hanging limp in a sling.

" Oh, hello again. I don't supose you were expecting to come back to this."

" Not really, no."

" It was some maniac, came in and shot people, shot Omi..." Zak shook his head. " I don't get it, what's going on?"

" I told you, it's a murder case. What about your arm? Are you hurt?" Ed, feeling slightly left out, and some sort of rivalry with the attractive young doctor, shuffled uncomfortably behind Roy. " This is my comrade Ed, by the way." He said, managing a watery smile for Ed's antics. Zak nodded at the boy.

" I wouldn't move out of the way, " he said, turning back to Roy. "And he shot me for it." Zak shrugged nochalently, then winced at the action and the new pain it caused. " Luckily it was only my arm, went right through too. They had me patched up in no time. Joy though, she's till in surgery, and Omi...he died in the bed. We couldn't save him." Roy's features darkened, another problem to add to the ever-growing list.

" Roy!" They all turned to see Hughes heading toward them, followed by Fletcher, oddly, with a box of supplies. The boy split off with a wave in their direction, but Hughes continued. " Oh, hello Ed. Didn't expect to see...Oh yes, the bet, I see. You were at lunch then?"

" No." Roy shook his head." We were, but then I saw a man with a gun running down the street from the window. It was the one from the bank robbery Hughes. The one we couldn't catch, and so I tailed him, the two of us did, all the way to the pier. He started firing then, and he got away, but not before socking me with a bullet first."

" You okay?" Hughes asked, raising an eyebrow.

" Yeah, the vest got the bad end of the deal." Roy plucked at the hole in his chest, retreaving the bullet he hadn't though to remove.

" You got shot? You should get that checked, it could have badly bruised your ribs." Roy smirked.

" Yeah, that's what the chibi said too." He jerked a thumb in Ed's direction.

" WHO ARE YOU CALLING SHORT YOU DAMN...!" Hughes covered his mouth and chuckled as it turned into a headlock which, despite the struggles, Ed couldn't escape from. " Let go...!"

" Come on Ed, lets get Mustang patched up and then you can attack him without worrying about him having an injury." They went to an unnoccupied room, lead by Zak, and Roy removed his vest and unbuttoned his shirt. "You're definitely going to need a new one of those." Hughes pointed at it. Roy nodded his head but then winced as Zak poked a tender spot.

" Yes, I'm afraid it's bruised, like I thought." He went over to a stand and took out some bandages. "These will just make sure it doesn't get worse, but you need to try to avoid putting any pressure on your chest at all really. Could you take off the shirt fully please?" Roy did as he was bid, and Ed glared at the doctor between drooling. He would've given A LOT to be in that doctor's place, he really would.

They finished up and, with Roy fully tended to, went back to the chaotic reception area.

" Is Russel here then Hughes?" Roy asked, remembering the younger of the two brothers having been there earlier.

" Yeah, he's convinced this case and Ling-Ye's are connected, and I have to say I think the same. He's at the crime scene now."

" Alright, Ed, could you just wait here a while? I don't think proceedure allows you to come." Roy asked, putting a hand on the shoulder of the blond.

" Sure." Ed did _not _want to see a dead body, one set of bullets was quite enough for one day, he thought. Besides, he had mental images he needed to drool over...eh...things he needed to think about. :)

Zak followed them, despite their warnings.

" I don't think I could tamper with the crime scene any more than I already have. I didn't think about evidence when I was trying to revive him." He assured them.

Inside the hospital room, furniture was oveturned, and blood was everywhere. Forensics had already been in for photos and evidence, but the body was still there, the final tests being done. Russell was bent over it, looking at a bullet in a bag and occasionally checking the wound. He looked up at them as they entered, Roy noticing the blood that coated the room, probably from Zak and his last attempts to save Omi.

" Hey guys, looks like I'll be working overtime again." He rolled his eyes, then settled them on Zak. He pulled off his glove and held out a hand. "I'm Russell, and you are...?" They shook, a little oddly because of Zak having to use his left hand, but they managed.

" Doctor Zak Lenning. It's nice to meet you, I've always admired forensic work."

" Well thank you, but I've always thought performing operations on the living was a more taxing task." He grinned."Anyway, not much to say here, he was shot and died pretty much instantly I'd say. There wouldn't have been any hope for him. As for the rest of the blood..." He eyed Zak's arm. " I'll assume it was you?"

" Yes, bit of a waste though, it seems."

" I thought it was a doctor thing that nothing to big could be wasted in the persuit of saving a life?" Zak smiled sadly.

" True. Was there anything else?" Hughes and Roy, having remained silent, glanced at eachother with raised eyebrows.

" No, but we have fingerprints on the door, we'll be able to get a match no problem."

" Great, well then, I want to go home. It's been a bloody long day for one of the times I'm not on the field." Roy said sighing and running a hand through his hair.

" I'll drive you there."

" I'm staying for a while, overtime, you know." Russell said looking back at the bag.

" Hey, could I stay too? I mean, I won't be able to work for a while because of my arm...And I always wanted to go deeper into forensics." Zak asked.

" Sure! Always good to have another pair of hands."

" I won't be intruding?"

" No, my little brother can show you the works, he's training with me. I'm used to an audience."

" Ah, alright, thank you." As the conversation turned towards just what Russell was doing, Roy and Hughes left, and they both wore matching grins.

BUAHAHAHA! Another chapter, be very happy. And another one due soon as well! YAY! Your screams will echo as the monsters of death tear apart your soul, YAY! (That, my dearies, is from Yu-Gi-Oh the Abridged Series, the funniest thing on earth, go check it out on youtube dot com...Seriously, I was laughing for days and still quote it now.)


	8. And Your Name Is Mud

BUAHAHAHA! I love you my reviewers. In fact, I love you so much there's now a reviewer of the chapter section, for the most inspiring review! (because many of them have really helped me a lot with writing this thing) SORRY SORRY! I'm a day out of schedual and it's uber short! I have no excuse, I was reading fics. T,T Lemmee alone, I was bored with this chapter.

Reviewer of the Chapter

Jane Austen Girl

Because you have been reviewing awesomely on so many chapters. :)

I don't own, because I'm lazy and the series would never have been finished if I was working on it.

That and the movie wouldn't have involved Roy being left in Amestris, and the brothers would actually HUG when they met after four years of both of them thinking the other was goddamn dead. :silently fumes:

**Don't Slip on the Splinters**

Chapter 8

Roy wanted to check on Ed that evening, just to make sure he was okay after the excitement the gunman and death of Omi had caused. That was the reason, which was seeming less necessary the longer he stayed, he was in Hughes' office surrounded by paper junk. Junk which, incidently, didn't seem to bother Hughes or his secretary at all.

" Please Hughes, I just wan't to make sure they're okay."

" I'm not allowed to give out personal addresses, and besides, I don't have it." Hughes shrugged and straightened a framed picture of Elysia with a sunhat on.

" Yeah right, I know you have the addresses of everyone we meet, and then some we don't. You care nothing for protocall, _and_ you led them to my house last week. I think you owe me the chance to go and see if the kid's alright." Roy demanded, getting tired of arguing for a damn address he could find quicker by knocking on doors for.

" Hmm, you seem awefully desperate for this address Roy." Hughes leered at him. "What'll you do for it?" _Quite a lot,_ Roy thought,_ but there's no way I'll let you know that._

" I'll babysit Elysia?" Roy offered, watching Hughes begin to sift through some files and papers.

" That's a start."

" A start?"

" Yeah, you could finish up by washing my car and giving these," He hauled up a huge stack of paperwork and shoved it into Roy's arms. "To my secretary. She's on her break." Roy nodded and sighed.

" You got it." Hughes scribbled down a note on a scrap piece of paper. "I don't have any free hands at the moment."

" Then use your imagination." Hughes flaaped it in front of Roy's face with an amused smirk. Tired of being in the office with his increasingly annoying friend, Roy leant forward, took the paper between his teeth and yanked, walking through the door to Hughes laughing at him merrilly.

" I swear I'm gonna' kill him."

Hughes' secretary, Chezka (Because I can't be bothered to search the spelling.) was in the coffee room, munching a flapjack with her head in a book.

"That good?" He asked, entering with difficulty after having to balance the papers on his knee to punch in the access code. Fortunately however, that had allowed him to put the address on top, and he was now free to talk.

" Yes, very, it's John Steinbeck. I never knew about that part of America's history, did you know...?"

" I'm sorry Chezka, but I'm in a hurry. Hughes asked me to drop these off for you. Oh, and you should probably go get some real food, it won't be enough to keep your beauty at its peek if you only eat a flapjack for dinner." She went bright red.

" Oh, well, I...I mean...Um, yes well, Those can...um, go on the table." She frantically cleared the desk and he dropped the stack onto it with a thump, taking the paper and shoving into his pocket at the same time.

" Thank you Miss Cheska, have a nice evening." He bowed his head to her and, after a little more stuttering, left.

X

The evening was a cool one after an unusually hot day; usually it rained and the sky was as grey as the seargent's hair, but the sunshine had promised a summer heat wave soon to follow the chilly after-Christmas weather. His car blasted out hot air to compensate for the hinted frost, and street lamps occassionally lit his car's interior with flourescent yellow. Turning on the radio for some company, he thought about the case. Work was far too large a part of his life.

Both Chinese ice-skaters were now dead, and the only lead they had was a wanted bank robber turned psycho. One that Roy had allowed to escape, no less. There had been nothing connnecting said convict to Ling Ye, but it was a bit supicious that there had been a robbery on, what was it? The day before the murder? Yes, so that wouldn't have been counted as a connection , but now it should be as it was him who was the main suspect in the case of Omi's death. But why would one failed bank robber attack an olympic ice-skating couple? And what did IOU1 have to do with anything?

"Damn." There were absolutely no real leads. Just money and a lot of skaters.

And that brought him back to Ed.

That was a conundrum. He'd heard Riza and Hughes talking a few times, about him and Sarah, about how Ed seemed to leave the same impression on him as she did. Personally, he couldn't figure it out. Ed wasn't his type, not at all, not even the tiniest bit...

And yet...

Okay, he decided this wasn't the time to think about these things, not when he was going to the Elric residence. He counted the streets that went past.

_Mooncrescent Av._

_Westfield Close._

_Eastfield Close._

_Mesham Road, here we are._

The street had flickering street lamps, and someone had graffitied genitalia on the electricity power box. Hedges were uncut, and flowerbeds were bare, but there were no burnt out cars or smashed-in windows. It was a normal council estate with busy residents and bored kids.

Parking in front of a small house with only one light on, Roy stepped out and locked his car, already missing the heater. He walked down the tiny pathway to the front door and knocked, waiting for someone to pull back the lace floral curtain and open the door.

Eventually someone did, and a small old woman stood there.

" Hello Ma'am, is Edward Elric here?"

" Who?"

" Edward Elric." He said a bit louder. The woman turned up her hearing aid.

" Oh that nice boy, why no, he's not here. I don't know where he is...but, ah, he's probably with that brother of his..." She rambled fraily.

" Do you know where they are?"

" They're at home I should think, at this time of night."

" Then, they don't live here?" Roy checked the paper in his hand. _4 Mesham Rd._ "Could you tell me where..."

" Mustang?" Roy turned and say Ed over the hedge, bin bag in one hand. "What are you doing here? Is something wrong Mrs Arnold?"

" No, no dear, this nice man was just looking for you." Roy grinned sheepishly and shrugged.

" Can't lie. I came to see you."

" To check that if a few gunshots were enough to rattle me? You didn't have a reason to worry. Still, come in, I know Alphonse wants to check on you too." Ed inclined his head toward the open rectangle of light which served as the front door. Nodding his head to Mrs Arnold, Roy went back down the winding graden path.

" Sorry to bother you Mrs Arnold, have a nice evening."

Ed shut the door with a click of the lock behind him, and led him through a nicely painted cream hallway to an extension at the back. Alphonse was at the kitchen counter chopping peppers with skilled precision.

" Hey Al, visitor." Ed said, taking a seat at the table and picking up his abandoned book.

" Oh! Mister Mustang!" Al wiped his hands on a towel and led Roy to the table, motioning for him to sit opposite Edward and his reading material. "I heard you got hit during an incident today, are you alright?"

" Yeah, I'm fine. I keep telling people it's my poor vest they should be worrying about, I only got the bruised ribs, but that poor thing had to retire.

" Ha ha! Well, I'm glad. Brother wouldn't tell me anything. Can I get you a drink?"

" Uh, just water, if you would." Ed listened to the banter around him, and wondered why it had seemed so different in the cafe. Here the police officer seemed such a self-centred, slimey sleaze, but alone with him that morning he'd seen another side. A childish, playful, caring, _worrying_ side that didn't fit his usual playboy image.

He wondered if he was having the same thoughts as no doubt scores of women before him.

The phone ended Al and Roy's short conversation, and Ed got up from the chair and fled to the hallway.

" I'll get it!" He told them, reaching for the wireless set. "Hello?"

" Ed?"

" Hey Winry." Ed glanced back to the extension as loud laughs issued from it.

" Who's there?"

" Roy just came round to, um, check up..."

" Oh, right. So he's checking up on you now? You're getting stuck right in there." Winry, on her end, smirked and flicked a long strand of blonde hair over her shoulder.

" Winry." Ed ground his teeth.

" Never mind, that's not why I called. I've got great news! By your voice I _know_ you haven't heard it yet, being occupied with your hearthrob and all that..."

" Get to the point Winry."

" Well..." She giggled. "If Roy's there, I'm coming too, without telling you! If you want to know before I get there, check your post. I'm sure you'll be as excited as I am." Ed heard a squeal from the other end and the line went dead.

" What the hell?"

" Brother, who was it?"

" Winry, she told me to check the post." Ed called back to the kitchen. He picked up the pile of envelopes and took them through to the other two occupants of the house.

" What for?"

" I'm not sure..." Ed trailed off, sorting through the letters. Bank details, mortgage bills, junk, leaflets for upcoming elections...And a blank envelope simply addressed to him with a strange stamp. " But I think we're going to find out." Ed peeled back the opening and pulled out the letter inside.

The letter that would change his entire life.

CLIFF HANGER! MUHAHAHAHA! I am teh evil. At least I didn't kill anyone, ne? I'm infamous for doing that to characters. Tune in next time my lovelies!

And my babies are beginning to realise they love eachother! They grow up so fast. :wipes tear from eye:


	9. So You Want To Be A Member

**A/N:** Konichiwa Mina! Thank you for your great response to chapter 8, I didn't expect more than three reviews considering it was a crappy less-than-2000-word chapter in which nothing of interest happened. --; Oh! And I got Microsoft Word after my computer meltdown, so there shouldn't be so many goddamn awful spelling errors now! Although I have to say, Jane Austen Girl has really helped me brush up in that department. :thumbs up:

(PS: I'm starting to think everyone in this world of mine is gay. Ah well, it's a good thing. Wait, WAIT, Hughes! He's in a good, loving, heterosexual marriage. Okies. There we are then.) **Disclaimer:** No Louie, no cry, it aint' mine.

ANYWHO, the **Reviewer of the Chapter**

FlyingShadow666 - For your…odd…yet inspiring, heart-warming (side-splitting) review. (Superheroes rule. No-one can debate it. )

And now, onto the bit you guys are here for!

**Don't Slip on the Splinters**

Chapter 9

The letter was starch white, pristine in condition, with a first class stamp and a sophisticated company logo. However, it wasn't the letter that Ed was staring at, but more so the words.

"Oh my god…" He breathed, reading it again. "Oh my God!"

"What? What is it?" Al asked, worriedly peering over one shoulder.

"We're going to Russia!"

"Eh?" The only response Al could manage was drowned in Ed's hug as he span him round.

"We're going to _Russia_! That means we've been invited to the Olympic trials!" Ed grabbed Roy around the neck and Roy felt himself go red as the boy pulled him close. It was only for the smallest of moments, but it was real, and it would probably have caused him an uncomfortable situation had it lasted any longer.

The celebrations were interrupted by a knock at the door, and Ed left to answer it. Roy could hear Winry before he saw her; excited yelps and squeals of joy as she talked to Ed in an unending stream.

"And then, if we get through the first trials, we'll be in a national competition. It's as big as Skyfield. _And_, beyond that, there's a real chance at the Winter Olympics. Can you imagine Ed? Us, at the _Olympics_. Can our routine even compete?" Both of them were silent for a moment until Ed cracked a smile.

"We've been working on it for over a year, we know it inside out and this is our big break. If we work hard enough, it'll even be good enough to _win._" Winry grinned and hugged him tight, laughing. In one fell swoop fuelled by their success, she leant forward and kissed him.

There was a pregnant silence.

Roy watched the two with an odd feeling invading his stomach, making him feel sick and envious at the same time. Winry and Ed just looked at each other in complete shock.

And then she was wiping her tongue with her tissue and Ed was spluttering and spitting into the sink.

"What the hell did you do that for?!" Ed demanded.

"I was happy, is that a crime now? Come on, I'm not allowed to kiss my best friend? Actually, now that I think about it, I'll never do it again. But you don't have to look so grossed out!"

"You were 'grossed out' too!"

"Let's get dinner to celebrate." Roy suggested, stopping the argument and putting the exchange as far from mind as possible. Ed grinned genially at the mention of food, and Winry nodded prettily.

"Oh, you don't have to Mister Mustang, really." Al began.

"No, please, I'd like to. It's an amazing achievement, the least these two deserve is a good meal for their efforts." Ed and Winry urged Al to agree from behind Roy, and he sighed.

"All right, thank you very much Mister Mustang…"

"You don't have to call me that Al." Roy smiled. (AN: Good Lord, lots of smiling.)

"Alright, Roy. Thank you, but we will return the favour."  
"As you wish."

Roy suggested his car for the journey, seeing as no-one in the house actually owned one other than him. Winry insisted they go the pick up their coach, Rosetta, claiming that without her they wouldn't have got anywhere near where they were at that point. So they pulled up outside a large house and knocked.

An old woman with a pinched face looked out. Rosetta was in her casual clothes; a baby-pink cashmere cardigan and grey skirt. Her brown hair was streaked with silver and was pulled into a tight bun.

"Winry? What are you doing here?" She asked, pushing crescent-shaped spectacles up the bridge of her nose to a more comfortable position.

"We have good news!"

"We got a letter from the Olympics commission…"

"They want us to go to the trials for the Olympics!" Rosetta just stood for a moment, trying to link the broken story into a coherent sentence. Eventually, she smiled slightly.

"Well, it's about time! I have been training you for a long time now; I'm amazed it hasn't happened sooner. Oh, and who's this?" She asked, looking past Al to Roy.

"Roy Mustang, pleasure to finally meet you face to face Ma'am." He held out a hand to her and she shook it with a firmness that startled him.

"Ah, Mister Mustang. I feel like I already know you, I've heard so much about you from my charges." Ed went red and Winry began to stare at a suddenly very interesting shoelace.

"Is that so?" Roy watched Ed, who stubbornly refused to meet his eye. "Well, we have decided to go out to celebrate, and I would be honoured by your company."

"Well, then I would be honoured to come. Let me fetch my jacket." Roy looked at the small group around him and couldn't help but regret it wasn't smaller. For example, only two of them, maybe.

He shook his head and made a strict decision to down a brandy at the next opportunity.

Edward felt a droplet of water hit his cheek and turned to look at the sky. It seemed the cold weather would be coupled by rain. Rosetta came out to lashing torrents, and she shooed them back towards the car.

"For Goodness' sake, get back inside. You'll all catch your deaths!" Once they were all in the car, Roy and Rosetta in the front and the three teens in the back, she made herself comfortable and turned the radio to her favourite classical station. "Where are we intending to go then?" She asked.

"A local place I know, it's comfortable and it's the safest place in town." Rosetta lifted an eyebrow but said nothing, and Ed couldn't tell if she was impressed or not by his declaration of a safe location.

This safe haven turned out to be a bar. It was well lit, and the smoking ban meant it had clear air as well. People milled about, talking like old friends, each one baring scars or injuries and that unmistakable aura of a fighter.

"This is mostly a police bar, we all come here after work, so trouble usually stays away." Roy informed them. "Alphonse is allowed in here; they trust that the officers would report any irresponsible drinking. There's a restaurant out back as well, we can eat there if you like."

"Sounds good." Ed said, mind on the appetising smells wafting from the kitchen doors. They walked through the throng of people, pausing occasionally for Roy to introduce them to friendly co-workers, a lot of them recognising Ed from his lunch errand and one even having the audacity to ruffle his hair and tell him he was 'really getting in there'.

_All police officers have mental issues._ He decided.

The restaurant area was less popular, but there were still quite a few families eating their meals. A couple sat in the corner, and-

"Uncle Roy!" A little voice called, its owner running up to their group. Roy bent down and caught her, lifting her up into the air and spinning her like an aeroplane.

"My favourite little princess, and how is Her Majesty this fine evening?" She giggled and hugged his neck, burying her face in his shoulder.

"I'm with Mummy and Daddy, and I'm going to have ice cream!"

"We already made a deal Elysia, after your dinner you can have whatever ice cream you like." Hughes stepped into view. "Hey guys."

"Ah Hughes, this is Ed and Winry's teacher, Madam Rosetta." Roy gestured to Rosetta, who curtsied slightly. "Miss Rosetta, this is my work partner, Maes Hughes."  
"It's great to meet you Madam Rosetta."

"Likewise Mister Hughes."

"Sit with us Uncle Roy! Daddy, please can he sit with us?" Elysia asked, turning to her father with starry eyes.

"I don't see why not. Sure, in fact, I'd like you all to meet my wife." He lead them over to a table where a smiling young woman greeted them warmly.

Elysia insisted on sitting in Roy's lap, and Edward found his gaze drawn to them inexplicably frequently. How he'd play with her and help her with which 'big girl' fork to use for her main course and which for her pudding, and console her when she hit her knee on the table. _Roy will be a great father someday. _It startled him, he didn't like to believe that Roy would be a father, for obvious reasons, and he resented the fact that his mind still thought of him as unattainable.

Gracia, Hughes' wife, had noticed the furtive glances. She lent forward after one particularly long pause and said in a low voice;

"You do know that Roy's bisexual, right?"

"W-wha…?" Ed spluttered, nearly dropping his glass.

"I just saw you watching, and Hughes mentioned…I'm sorry. This is awfully impolite. I didn't mean to intrude, but I thought it might put you in a little higher spirits." She gave him a dazzling smile, and it disarmed him. Taking a deep breath, he prepared to admit to a stranger what he wouldn't even hint at to someone else.

"Yes." He smiled slightly and looked back towards Roy and the little girl once more. "Thank you for telling me." Gracia smiled again, and sent a silent prayer that they could make it work, for Roy's sake.

X

After the meal, the group went back into the bar area. It was like a camp fairy had invaded and redecorated; strobe lights and neon strips, a DJ with a massive sound system and multi-coloured spinning lights causing seizures as they swept across the floor, walls and people.

"Woah, what happened to this place?" Ed asked.

"Welcome to The Seven Sins Ed." He span to see Riza behind him in a blue halter-top and skinny jeans. "It changes from a contemporary bar to a night club every day at seven thirty. So, come for a night out?"

"Yeah, well, we've got something to celebrate and Roy suggested we come here." Ed shrugged.

"Oh, great! I haven't missed a birthday or anything, have I?"

"Nah, um, Winry and I got an acceptance to the Olympic Preliminaries."

"Oh my god, that's amazing! Well done, you deserve it, I've seen what you can do on the ice and I have no doubt you're going to go far."

"Thanks."

"Hey Mustang!" She suddenly bellowed. "I see you finally stopped tearing up photos like a high-schooler and came down to join us. Don't make me have to order you outside again, you hear me?"

"Yes Riza." Roy came up behind him, and Ed could almost feel the heat of the man at his back. Suddenly, music began to pulse through the club, and a loud cheer went up from its residents.

"Come on Elysia, bed time."

"Aw, but Mummy I wanna' stay with Roy and Daddy at the party." Elysia complained.

"Sorry dear, but you have nursery tomorrow, it's time to go home." Gracia said, bending down to pick the little girl up.

"Okay, but let me go say g'bye to Uncle Roy." Gracia nodded, and Elysia ran into Roy again. He turned and picked her up again. "G'night Uncle Roy. Can you come and play soon?"

"Of course. Whenever you want me too."

"Can you come tomorrow?" She pleaded.

"Sure, me and your Daddy need to sort out your computer anyway." Hughes nodded. Suddenly, Elysia noticed Ed, seemingly for the first time despite their forty-five minute meal together. She reached out and grabbed his plait, twirling her small fingers through fine, golden strands. Ed turned round to reprimand whoever dared touch his hair.

"I like your hair." She told him as he watched her, startled.

"Uh, thank you." He reached out and gave her bunchy a very light tug. "I like your hair too." He smiled as she grinned at him.

"Can you come over some time and do my hair like that?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess." Ed replied as she let go of his plait and it landed with a thump on his shoulder.

"Good." Elysia smiled as Roy handed her back over to her mother.

"Goodnight Gracia, it was good to see you again."

"As always Roy. You have to come round to see us more often." She told him, shifting Elysia onto one hip. The voice of the DJ finally echoed out and she looked at the neon clock on the wall. "Well, we really have to go. Say goodnight Elysia. You're staying aren't you dear?" She asked Hughes.

"Yes, just for a little bit, see you at home honey." He kissed her cheek and Elysia's forehead.

"G'night!" Elysia shouted over her mother's shoulder.

"Right, lets get this show on the road!" Riza shouted as she pulled Hughes onto the dance floor. The evil glint in Hughes's eye warned Roy of an oncoming 80's dance routine.

"Ah, you guys probably don't want to have to go through Maes' dancing. Let's find a table." He began to lead them through the growing throng.

" Is the dancing that bad? I'd have thought Miss Riza would stop him doing anything too extravagant…" Al asked, grabbing the back of Ed's shirt to avoid being left behind. Winry and Rosetta avoided the shirt, but kept a brisk pace through the milling people.

"If you want to look back at it, it's your funeral." Roy shrugged, finally locating a chair and pulling it out to collapse in it, exhausted. Al and Ed looked back before sitting, and caught Riza and Hughes jitterbugging.

They sat down with a synchronised shiver.

"I think it's worse than 'bad'" Ed concluded. Al nodded emphatically in agreement.

"Yeah, those two have had an obsession with dancing since college. They used to be partners, but they quit."

"Oh dear, what happened?" Al asked.

"They sucked!" Roy laughed in reply. "Even they realised how hopelessly bad they were, and now they only take out their old routines as heavy-duty torture material." Rosetta raised an eyebrow and Ed frowned.

"That's a weird image." Winry stated.

"Never really saw either of them as into that sort of thing…Especially Riza." Ed admitted, risking another glance at the couple.

"Well, she has a cool façade in the day, but she's a slave-driving maniac really. What do you guys want to drink?"

"Water please." Al asked.

"Gin and Tonic for me, Mr. Mustang, if you would be so kind."

"Of course. And the shrimp?"

"I AM NOT A SHRIMP YOU EGOTISTICAL BASTARD!"

"Okay then, you've been upgraded to a leprechaun, what would you like?" Edward ground his teeth.  
"Anything strong enough to block you out." He growled.

"Are you old enough to drink Edward?"

"Just fetch the goddamn drinks Mustang." Roy laughed and waved his hand over his shoulder as he turned to leave. (Kids here can legally drink at 18. Ed can be 18. Yay, I decided on an age.)

"Back in a minute."

"God, that guy infuriates me." He ranted as they watched Roy disappear in the crowd.

"Could have fooled me." Rosetta said, coolly reapplying some lipstick from her handbag.

"What does that mean, huh?" Edward glared.

"It's obvious Edward. One day you will have to explain to your bratya, but everyone else knows."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Edward denied. Or rather, he lied.

"I think you like him more than you let on." Winry nudged him and winked a little, small so that only Ed could see.

"He's been really nice Brother, you should take his teasing as it's intended; friendly banter." Al encouraged.

"Yeah, yeah, what is this? Gang up on Edward day?"

"No, it's 'make Edward face reality' day." Rosetta replied. "You're going to have to make a move soon, someone like that is never alone for long." Edward went bright red, he could almost feel the heat as it rolled from his face in waves.

"Rosetta!"

"I'm just stating what we all already know…"

"Okay, here you are, someone will have to take one or I'll drop it." Roy said, appearing suddenly. Ed moved to take the glass, and when he felt his hand brush the older man's, Rosetta's hint came back full-force and he blushed further. "Are you okay Ed?"

"I'm fine." He squeaked back. Rosetta covered up her snort of laughter and triumph by pretending to cough into a dainty handkerchief. Edward groaned and took a sip of the alcoholic beverage Roy placed in front of him. He was surprised as it tasted less sour and more like apples.

"I feel like dancing, Miss Rosetta, would you do me the honour? Roy asked, never one for sitting down for long periods of time. It was, he supposed, one of the reasons he was a policeman rather than a businessman sat in an office somewhere.

Rosetta smiled at him candidly, but both Ed and Al could see some bad intent simmering under the surface. The dance teacher was plotting something.

They only hoped that Roy wasn't the one to get the bad end of it.

AN: Thank for reading, and please review. And everyone, if you're religious, pray for Madeleine, a little English girl kidnapped in Portugal on her holiday. Happy birthday Madeleine.

**Sciezska: **that's how you spell it! Now it's on this chapter, I won't forget how to spell it ever again.


	10. Of The Human Race

**A/N:** You get two chapters in two days (as opposed to the usual four) because the last one was so sucky (I mean number 8) and because I haven't updated in ages. Sorry, sorry, I got a computer virus, then I got a _real_ virus and had to stay off school and then I had work experience and then I had to doextrarevisionformyGCSEsandit'sbeenverybusyandbesidesthat…

I'm very lazy. --;

Anywho, thanks for sticking with me. New chapter! Yay! No, I don't bloody own it. Sheesh. Do fanfictioneers really have to do disclaimers? Surely, as a fanfiction, the very concept makes disclaimers irrelevant…Ah well. Oh, and I'm uber sorry, but I kinda' forgot about Winry last chapter. Because of that little cock-up, I've rewritten chapter 9, but the changes aren't that big; I just sort of added her in here and there. There's no point going back to read it or anything. I kinda' forgot her in this one too, in fact, it was only thanks to a review that I realised at all. So, I just got rid of her suddenly in this chapter, because I am so NOT rewriting it just for her.

**Reviewer of The Chapter**

Ame Mika'zuki: Because you review so MUCH! Add they're all so _nice_. As the juvenile delinquents would phrase it; luv ya babez.

**Don't Slip on The Splinter**

Chapter 10 Ooh, double digits. Written whilst watching the Eurovision Song Contest (bleh).

Rosetta was quite a dancer, for a woman past her prime wearing spectacles in a night club…

Roy found it hard to keep up with the spry woman and her sometimes insane moves, but when she eventually slowed down into a slightly less hectic tango, he found it even harder to keep up with her conversation.

"If you hurt him I swear I'll string you up by your balls and, let me tell you, Winry will do worse."

"Pardon?" Roy stuttered.

"I don't know what your intentions are, but I do know he's easily put down; he puts too much faith in people. So I'm telling you now, if you treat him badly, even once, I will, how you English say…make your life a living hell?" Roy swallowed slightly.

"Uh, alright Miss Rosetta, I'll keep that in mind."

"Good." The Russian woman tapped him on the nose as the song ended. "Thank you for the dance, you're a good young man really. And Roy, I'm only saying this because I know how he feels about you." With a nod she released him and went to sit back down. Roy followed, torn between being completely confused and scared skinless. However, some higher-power-that-be didn't deem it the time to dwell on such new information.

When the table was in view, they both knew something was wrong. Someone was talking to the Elric brothers, someone leaning uncomfortably close to Alphonse. Edward looked like he was going to spring up and punch the guy at any second, and Roy quickened his step slightly.

"We don't want you here."

"Hmm, aren't you Mustang's new toy?"

"No I'm bloody well not, now get your hands off my brother and leave, before I make you." Ed clicked his knuckles menacingly, golden eyes glinting eerily in the fluorescent lights.

"You're a regular little spitfire, aren't you? Why don't you let your brother answer for himself, and then we'll…"

"Leave, Kimbly." Roy cut in darkly.

"Ah, Mustang. We were just talking about you; bad things only, I assure you." Kimbly replied, lopsided smirk in place as he turned, revealing an arm around a very uncomfortable Al.

"I said leave." Rosetta turned up at that point with Hughes and Riza looking serious behind her.

"No wonder it's so hard for folk to make conversation around here. Fine then." He yawned widely and released the blond boy, who looked considerably relieved. "Catch you losers some other time." He swaggered into the dancers, and Roy turned to the youngest brother.

"You okay Al?" He asked quietly. Al nodded.

"I'm fine, he didn't really do anything."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." Roy squeezed his shoulder, and then went to calm down Ed.

The blond was seething as he watched Rosetta talking to his brother. When Roy came over he barely noticed.

"That pervert, I could have killed him. God only knows what he would have done if Winry were still here." He simmered.

"Alphonse is okay, it's better off that you didn't start fighting him...at least not here." Roy told him, silently in awe of the skater's icy fury. He looked strangely beautiful, murderous eyes of molten gold glowing and hair coming a little loose from Elysia's provocation, all illuminated by the light strips behind him. Roy shook his head slightly. He realised the alcohol wasn't helping him deal with Edward, neither was it helping Edward deal with the situation. "You should drink some water." He instructed. Without thinking, Ed reached over for Al's glass, shirt riding up and revealing a strip of flat stomach. Roy looked away quickly and shook his head again.

"Come on, it won't be any more fun in here with that lot hanging around." He motioned toward Kimbly and his group of brutish friends. Hughes and Riza agreed, so they all finished their drinks and grabbed their coats, exiting the Seven Sins. On the way out, Roy told bouncer Pride to keep an eye on Kimbly and his group. The refined older man just nodded and wished them all a good night.

Ed felt dizzy, realising he shouldn't have stood up so quickly after having consumed alcohol. He didn't drink often, but now he had, and a little more than he usually would, admittedly, he felt quite sick.

The cold air outside made him feel a little better, and he pulled his coat closer against the wind. Occasionally he'd see two lamp posts instead of one, and he wondered absentmindedly if he was drunk.

"Brother…" A quiet voice came from a small way behind him.

"Yeah?"

"I don't feel well." Ed turned to see his younger brother and gasped. He was deathly pale and shivering, swaying slightly as he walked. Edward stopped and felt his forehead; it was burning hot. Suddenly, the boy fell forward, and he caught him clumsily, falling to the ground under the weight.

"Al!" He cried, gaining the attention of the rest of the group.

"What happened?" Riza asked, the first one of them to reach them.

"He said he wasn't feeling well, and then he just toppled over. He's burning up." Ed looked down at Al, the younger brother barely able to keep his eyes open.

"Okay, this isn't going to be pleasant Al, but I'm going to need you to make yourself sick." Riza told the boy, rubbing his back consolingly.

"What the hell?" Edward protested.

"Riza's a trained paramedic. It's for the best that you listen to her." Roy told them. Ed nodded his head reluctantly and handed his brother over to the older woman. She lead him over to a nearby patch of bushes, and the rest of them considerately turned away.

"What's wrong with him?" Ed asked, a little shaken and not aided by that night's earlier events.

"Well, she wants him to get something out of his system, perhaps he's got food poisoning of some sort." Hughes answered. Ed massaged his temples.

"Are you alright Ed?"

"Yeah, it's just the alcohol. Damnit, but he hasn't eaten anything that could have given him such a violent reaction!" Roy put an arm around his shoulders consolingly.

"It's okay, we'll go to the hospital if Riza says he needs the care there, if not my house is just around the corner. We can take him there." He offered. Ed nodded in thanks, and felt his head spin. Unconsciously he leant a little more on the older man for support. "You sure you're okay?"

"I'm perfectly fine."

"Okay…"

"Okay Al, do you just want to sit down for a minute?" They turned to see Riza returning with the young blond. He shook his head.

"I just want to go to bed." He replied in a hoarse whisper.

"Well, we can do that. The hospital won't be necessary. Someone spiked your drink, but whoever it was wasn't very thorough. I think only about half of the intended dose managed to get into your glass."

"Okay."

"Edward, are you feeling alright? I remember you drinking some of Al's water." Riza asked.

"I've been a little dizzy." Riza put a cool hand on his forehead.

"You don't have a temperature. Be sure to tell me if it gets worse, okay?" Ed nodded and went to support his brother.

"Come on, my house is only two minutes away." Roy prompted. It was a torturous two minutes for Al, and he was ready to give up and sleep on the pavement by the time they reached the front door. Roy and Ed helped him to the spare room, and settled him into the bed. There he quickly fell into a restless sleep.

X

Roy could only look at the boy and his brother, carefully resting a cool compress on his sweating forehead, for a few moments before anger gripped him.

He left the room and descended the stairs, passing the living room and Hughes.

"Roy?" The police officer called him back softly. Roy returned holding his coat, noticing Riza curled up on the couch, ready should anything unexpected happen and her medical knowledge forced to resurface again.

"I'm going out." He replied.

"Where?"

"I have something I need to do." With that, he turned and left, grabbing his shoes from the porch as he passed. Walking back the way they'd come around fifteen minutes before, he retraced his steps and passed the bar. He walked to a nearby abandoned parking lot-cum-factory, and there he entered.

Inside was dark, lit by emergency lighting that wasn't meant to be on. Through trial and error, he worked his way through the unforgiving cement corridors, listening for any sign of life. Voices down the far corridor alerted him to the location of those he sought. Just at the moment he was considering his course of action, the man he was looking for exited the room.

He hastily hid himself behind a corner, and waited for the figure to pass him. Dark hair, sloppy grin, Kimbly.

Roy stole behind him, silently stalking as Kimbly made his way from the room his companions were in, and further into the compound. He worried over getting out again, as he recognised less and less of his surroundings.

It came to do or die; he could continue to follow Kimbly, successfully doing nothing other than getting lost, or he could confront him there an then in the corridor rather than wait for him to go into a room. So be it.

"Kimbly, I swear, one day I'm going to kill you." The man turned round, a look of mock surprise schooled onto his features.

"Mustang. Hmm, I knew you'd turn up sooner or later. Looking for your cute little blond?"

"Looking for a fist in the face?" Roy countered.

"I don't want to go anywhere near your fist, I don't know where it's been." Roy grabbed the scruff of Kimbly's jacket.

"Don't try me." He growled.

"What crawled up your ass and died, Mustang?" Roy shook him.

"If you ever, _ever_, go so much as five meters near that kid again, I promise you that you'll never have children."

"Well actually, I have quite a few illegitamate...Okay, I get it, inappropriate time to mention that..." He submitted as Roy sharply brought up a curled fist level with his eyes.

"Now, are you going to leave me, and them, the fuck alone or do I have to make you remember?"

"Sure, whatever, you're the boss man."

"Right." Shoving him roughly against the wall, Roy released Kimbly and began striding back down the corridor.

He couldn't believe he trusted Kimbly enough to turn his back on him, and it proved to be a costly mistake. Suddenly, his legs were pulled from beneath him and he fell back, smacking his head on the unforgiving concrete floor. All at once, Kimbly was above him, his own fist formed and ready to use.

"That's something you should never do, Mustang; threaten me and then expect me to sit in the shadows, cowering like a little dog while you walk away. I've been wanting to do this for a very long time. You should consider yourself lucky; I don't usually give people private treatment." He drew his lips back in a feral grin and thrust the fist forward. Roy saw stars.

Taddaa. Chapter 10. 11 is gonna be FUN!

I don't know how many people who read this aren't American, but if you're European…I was appalled at our Eurovision Song Contest entry! Did you see? _They were wearing smocks! _O.O And oh the innuendo. But MAN did we suck, 2 votes total. HAHA!

Anywho, I'm sorry about the ending, it was corny and unoriginal...But I was tired from my first day of work. T.T Don't hate me.

Please review!


	11. You Want To Be A Good Boy

**A/N:** ARG! I had my RE GCSE exam today, and I thought it was tomorrow and only found out yesterday lunch time at work that it wasn't. I was up ALL NIGHT revising! (When I really wanted to write this fic, BTW) God that was irritating, but now it's over! Yay. And I like this chapter too, so it's all good.

Okies, it's like a whole revision of my writing style, which I will probably forget to do when I get halfway through. --; Heh, in fact, ignore that sentence, I'll forget. Just berate me about it afterwards.

Maybe then I'll remember.

**Reviewer of the Chapter**

JumpinPopTarts - Because you have an UBER cool name, and you left me a review that made me both laugh and feel all warm and fuzzy.

(And the runner's up prize goes to Jane Austen Girl. If you go look for her review, you'll definitely see why. Thankies again JA Girl!)

PS: Hopefully, this chapter will answer Fullmetal LVR's questions. I didn't want to give all that away in a review reply, so you've had to wait till now! And, for those who wanted it to happen sooner...Some RoyEd in this chapter! Actually, it practically takes over. Oh the fluff.

**Don't Slip on The Splinters**

Chapter 11 - Whoot, isn't it exciting:)

Bandaids on Heartbreaks

The metallic taste of coppery blood blossomed in his mouth, and the resounding pain that was like thunder made his vision turn to red.

He knew Kimbley was going to throw another punch, in fact he knew Kimbley was going to punch him until he was nothing more than a bloody splotch on the cement floor. This gave him great incentive to move. Unfortunately, this proved more difficult than his mind made it sound.

Roy was sure that another blow to the head would render him useless. To have any chance of winning, he'd have to, somehow, get the smirking brick that was his agressor off his stomach.

As the second punch was swung at him, he clumsilly deflected it with his forearm and elbowed Kimbley in his crotch. At least, that's where he aimed. A groan of pain told him he'd aimed well, and he seized the oppertunity to push the other man off him and disentagle himself from the writhing pile of limbs. Kimbley was curled in on himself, face scrunched up in an image of pain. It wouldn't last long, and he had to move. The world spun as he stood; blobs of colour squirming across his vision. Through this rainbow haze, he saw Kimbley stagger upright and glare at him.

"You are so _dead_, Mustang." He hissed, running forward to charge the police officer.

Roy ducked and sidestepped, using the same arm to smash Kimbley at the base of his skull. The enraged man let out a cry of frustration, turning quickly to kick Roy squarely in the chest. The impact sent him flying backwards, cement floor grazing the area above his eye. Whilst trying to recover his breath, Roy fumed at Kimbley's laughter, unable to pull himself up off the floor a second time.

"You see, you wouldn't have to go through all this if you'd just lighten up; get a sense of humour. Everyone else thought it'd be great seeing that kid staggering about high as a kite. But no, never the great Roy Mustang. Upstanding and civil, the perfect gentleman." Kimbley's eyes narrowed. "You always were too damn suave." He kicked Roy in the side.

"No-one could stand up against Mustang, it's what everyone's mother told their sons to aim for. 'Try to be more like Roy' they'd titter. Well, I tried, don't you know? I tried damn hard, and no-one noticed. Every employer, every good friend, every girl...All of them got charmed by you before they even looked at me. Even Sally Pincer. Remember her? You made off with her on our _date._"

"You're...wrong." Roy stammered out between gasps of breath. "I didn't 'make off' with...Sally Pincer. You tried to _rape_ the poor girl. I only looked after h...Ah!" Another kick in the side quickly silenced Roy's protest.

"I was almost at fourth base too. And then you come in with the hero card, and bam! No more date." Kimbley bent down beside him and grabbed a handful of his hair, pulling him up. "It's time I got payback. Maybe I should get what you want most for once, eh? Maybe that blond you're getting so fond of..."

"I already warned you about...-"

"I really don't think you're in a position to argue. Just imagine, gripping that golden hair, the _screams_ I'll pull out..." Roy lashed out and smashed Kimbley's jaw. Grabbing the scruff he'd abandoned so carelessly before, he threw the man into a wall with a satisfying crack of bone. Meticulously he delivered blow after blow, releasing blood, dislodging teeth. The punches Kimbley fought back with weren't felt, Roy was too incensed to take any note of the pain.

"I came here," He began. "To make sure you left those two kids alone and safe. If you won't accept that, I'll have to force you." Another punch, and another, skin ripping, blood thumping and bone smashing.

When Roy finally came out of the red haze, Kimbley was a mess of whimpering blood. The police officer turned and walked back down the corridor without a word, grim look on his face, bloodied hands in his pockets. This time nothing was going to attack him from behind.

X

Ed was woken by the front door slamming and someone slinging their shoes in the cupboard under the stairs. Quietly so as not to wake his sleeping sibling, he got up and crept out of the door, closing it silently behind him.

Downstairs only a few necessary lights were on. Snores erupted from the living room occasionally, but a look in there proved only that Riza was still asleep and Hughes had joined her in the land of dreams. Hughes was drooling slightly, and Ed pulled the blanket slipping off the police officer up to cover his freezing feet. Going through to the kitchen, he looked around for the only person unaccounted for.

"Roy?" He stage-whispered. "Where are you?" He jumped with a gasp when a shape stood up next to him. Moving into the light slightly, it turned out to be Roy holding a bottle of vodka. "What the hell did you _do?_" Ed exclaimed. A purple bruise covered one side of Roy's face. Blood, both dry and still thickly oozing flooded from his lip, nose and a grazed gash above his right eye. It coated his hands as well, nuckles abused and tattered.

"I paid Kimbley a visit." Roy answered vaguely.

"Drive into a brick wall on the way over?" The blond challenged. Roy didn't answer, instead pulling out a chair and a glass. Ed pulled the glass bottle out of his hand before he could pour the alcohol into the waiting cup. Roy glared.

"I've had a long night Edward..." He warned, growling slightly.

"Haven't we all? Now Mustang, you're going to tell me what the fuck happened to your face." He gave Roy a once over, from the dirtied coat to the reddened hands. "And God knows what else."

"Fine. I went and gave Kimbley a warning. If I'd left him he'd have pulled more stunts like tonight on both you and your brother." Ed scowled.  
"I can fight my own battles thank you." He muttered quietly whilst crouching down to rummage through a nearby cupboard. Roy ignored him again.

"Ed, the vodka?" Roy pressed.

"Is going to be used to dress that cut over your eye." The young skater couldn't help but feel slightly grateful that Roy had managed to get himself so completely battered for him. Well, for his brother, but he could dream.

"Oh come on...-"

"For the cut on your eye I said. It needs steralising. Now where's your first aid kit?" Roy sighed and rolled his eyes wearilly.

"In the drawer on your right." He replied, slumping on the wooden breakfast-bar stool. Ed pulled out a red box with a cross on its front and opened it up to reveal bandages, plasters (band-aids) and anticeptic wipes. He then fetched a bowl and filled it with warm water and a little of the vodka, picking up a rag as he went. Eventually he sat down next to Roy and motioned for him to turn and face him.

Taking the cloth, he wrang it out and placed it against the biggest cut. Roy let out a hiss as it connected with the wound.

"Sorry." Ed apologised. "It'll only sting at first, but there's crap all round it. I have to get that out." Roy didn't reply, and he continued to work in silence, wiping away the encrusted blood and staining the water in the bowl a murky pink. When he set the bowl aside and reached for the anticeptic wipes, Roy leant his heavy head on his hand elbowed on the table.

"How come you know so much about this medical stuff?" He asked.

"Winry and I used to fall a lot in our early training, cuts and scrapes were a daily thing. This'll sting." He leant forward and pressed the chemical-covered wipe to the cut above Roy's eye.

"Ow..." Roy complained, but he didn't really mind. He focussed on the small mouth of his carer. Pink, full lips open in concentration to reveal the tips of pearly white teeth. As Ed pulled his hand away, Roy's shot out to take hold of a slender wrist. The blond gave him a questioning look.

"Ed..." He began, unable to continue as speech chose to leave him. He grappled with the English language for a few moments, before finally giving in and settling on a phrase he could say instead of the one he'd first intended to. "Thank you." He said quietly. Ed smiled genuinly.

"You're welcome." Ed took the Vodka bottle and poured a glass for them both. "Here, cheers to the end of that perverted bastard." Roy took the glass and smiled slightly, wincing when it aggitated the cut on his lip. He nodded to Ed's toast, and downed the glass.

A while later Ed announced he was going to bed as he put the vodka up on the shelf.

"Someone will have to explain to Al what happened when he wakes up, and I've gotta' be there in case he gets worse." He said, excusing himself. Roy sat where he was for a moment in silence, pondering the strange longing he had to feel those soft fingers caressing his face again. The desire he had for a touch, for simple contact.

Summoning up the dutch courage he'd drank down, he stood himself and caught up with Edward, stopping him by winding his arms around the boy's waist and pulling him close.

"Ed, just one more thing. He...Kimbley, he threatened you specifically. To get at me as part of that vendetta he has." Roy spoke quietly, breath brushing Ed's ear. He paused momentarilly, savouring the feeling of skin covered by shirt under his fingertips. "Be careful, okay? I'm not sure what I'd do if something happened to you." He buried his face in the crook of Edward's smooth neck for a moment, and then released him reluctantly to climb the stairs without a sound.

X

Ed stood still in silence for a long while after Roy left, the warmth of his body still fading off his skin like evaporating water. He could feel the heat from the blush adorning his face no doubt making him as red as Roy's blood. His heart pounded in his chest and in his head, thought's whirling and jumping at every beat. He was so totally besotted.

Just the memory of the touch on his neck made him shiver.

Eventually, when all sound from upsatirs had ceased, he made his way up and back to Al's room. He didn't trust himself to see Roy again right then, he knew he'd do something he shouldn't; he knew he'd ruin it. So he was deathly silent. Creeping along the soft carpet, bare toes curling as it sank beneath them, he passed the master bedroom holding his breath. He practically ran the last few feet to the spare room, and there he shut the door and collapsed on a space on Al's bed.

Letting out a long sigh, he found his mind replaying the scene again. The breathy words, the heat exchange.

"Shit." He cursed in a whisper. He fisted his hand into the sheets, twisting and pooling them. He covered his face with one hand.

"Shit." He murmered aloud again.

"I'm in love."

**A/N:** Aw...

GAH! I wanted SOSOSOSOSO much for them to get together in this chapter, but I CAN'T because then my climatic plan won't be complete at the end of the fic! ARG! And any kissing and stuff can't exactly be put down to 'oh, you just had ketchup on your lip...' or something. So...Well, you just have to make do with the crap I tried to write out here. I really hope it tides you over, I know most people are reading for the RoyEd and not the plot, but the plot is nowhere near the place the relationship is at. :( So while the relationship it ripe to come to fruition already, I still have to get them to Russia so the real fun can start.

Damn. I'll try to go a little quicker! Hopefully it'll work. Thanks for reading, and please leave a review!


	12. But You Couldn't Stand The Taste

**A/N:** Back again, whaddya' know. I looked up Ling in the FMA manga, whoot for another character I've never heard of. But, hum, Zak looks a teensy bit more feminine than him, to answer Ami Mazuki's question. Although I have to admit, the hair is similar if you added some nicer bangs. :D Righto', let's get on with this then. I have NO idea what should happen in this chapter, so I'm just…well…making it up I suppose.

**Reviewer of the Chapter**

MARYLOVER - For your extremely supportive review. It boosted my confidence to know that people really are reading for something I created rather than the fabulous, must-be-loved OTP OF ALL ANIMES! Sorry, sorry, I know I got carried away there…

**Don't Slip on the Splinters**

Chapter 12 by Forgetful - IOU2

Ed slid across the rink fluidly, skates scraping over the sparkling sphere of ice he glided over. He gripped Winry's slim waist and lifted her up, throwing her into a spin which she used to propel herself across the rink, landing gracefully on the other side.

"Good, very good." Rosetta shouted from the bleachers. "Now, into the stag lift." Roy watched from beside her, eyes following the blond boy as he danced over the freezing glitter.

Al was beside him in a warm coat, despite being indoors. He was still getting inexplicable cold spells, and the occasional hot flush, but Riza had assured them before she'd left that it was completely normal. The boy's cheeks were returning to their usual rosy flush, but he looked tired. As the healing gash above Roy's eye twinged, he felt great satisfaction in beating Kimbley on the boys' behalf.

"They're even better now." Al said quietly. Rosetta looked at him in silence for a moment, and then she turned back to the two figures on the ice.

"In some ways, yes. But still…Edward and his stiff back. He's treating it as dancing, and not as _living._" She explained. Her Russian accent was heavy after the drink the night before, but her eyes were piercing and bright and her mind was critical.

"I don't understand, it looks flawless to me." Roy responded with a shrug. Rosetta shook her head.

"Look closely at how he holds her. She is his partner, and a dearly loved one, but not his driving force." Roy looked as she'd asked, and sure enough saw how Edward cared about her, protected her from falling, but didn't cling to her as he might to something he'd put his life on the line for. "The dance is about complete dedication." Rosetta continued. "He is supposed to be willing to live, to kill, to _die_ for her. He needs to learn how to convey that before the Olympic trials." Roy nodded slowly. Suddenly his phone rang and he rummaged through the pockets of his dark overcoat, slung carelessly over the back of a chair, to find it.

"Hello?" He spoke into the receiver.

"Hey Roy, it's Hughes." Roy growled slightly.

"It's my day off Hughes…" He began, frustrated.

"I know, I know. But we've found a major lead. Look, where are you now? I can pick you up."

Roy sighed. "I'm at the rink."

"Oh, that's great! Is Edward there? Elysia's been wanting to see him ever since yesterday, and won't stop talking about his plait. Isn't that just adorable?" Roy's eye started twitching, and he really couldn't begin to imagine why.

"Yes, they're practising."

"Great! We only need to go to the prison for a few hours, we'll be back before lunch!" The over-enthusiastic officer encouraged.

"Fine." Roy closed the phone without a goodbye. He turned to Rosetta and Al. "I have something to do, it's for work. Hughes is going to bring Elysia to watch though. Be warned." Rosetta nodded and Al smiled slightly. Roy could tell the younger Elric liked children, and he was glad that Al would have something like Elysia to get his mind off his weak state.

"We may as well call a break then, these two have been going since nine this morning after all." Rosetta responded.

"I'm sure they'll be training earlier than this every day before the trials?"

"Of course, there's no way they could ascend beyond the preliminaries without rigorous practise." She raised her voice for the skaters to hear above the grating of ice skates. "Time out. You have visitors and that will only disturb the practise anyway. Besides, you must eat something. It's not healthy to exercise on an empty stomach."

Ed and Winry glided to the edge of the rink and the people waiting there. Ed surreptitiously glanced at Roy as he untied his laces and pulled off his white boots.

The man had done so much for them in such a small amount of time, and they'd accepted him as a friend so quickly. Then again, Roy's friends had accepted them quickly as well. And he'd fallen for him quicker than anyone could have imagined.

Roy noticed the sudden blush that coated the blond's face and he smirked.

"Need some help getting up from down there, shrimp?"

"Don't. Call. Me. Short." Ed growled, all traces of the flush gone.

"Of course, I forgot your rise in status. I'll remember it's leprechaun from now on."

"I hate you." Ed replied, pulling himself up and newly sporting a pair of slip-ons.

"Why thank you." He held out a hand to help up the boy on the floor. Edward felt the red rise again, but he fought it and gripped Roy's cool hand, hauling himself up. He was caught when he finally stood fully; caught in onyx eyes. It was too late when he realised he'd held onto that hand longer than anyone normally would. It wasn't his fault, the fingers entwined with his were so soft, and the eyes he was gazing into so captivating…

He was saved from certain embarrassment by Hughes' loud entry. The bespectacled officer burst through the doors with a laughing bundle of Elysia in his arms, grinning like the cat with the cream. Gracia followed more sedately, her fair hair lightly coifed and skirt-suit perfectly ironed.

Ed sighed gratefully at their timely entrance.

"Come on then Roy, you bum. We need to head down to the prison." Hughes ordered, handing his daughter to his wife. Roy gave Ed's hand a light squeeze and a heart-melting smile before turning towards the door. Ed thought his knees were going to give.

Outside Hughes rushed Roy towards his car, briefly outlining just why he'd interrupted his leisure time.

"They've found a link between the bank robbery and the Ling Ye case. Gotta' go down there and question the little bugger, because nothing can be just a robbery any more. It has to be murder and torture and God knows what else…" They climbed into the car and buckled up.

Roy ignored the irritating radio station that his partner put on, instead focussing his thoughts on one golden eyed ice dancer.

He had no idea why he'd been so…intimate with Ed the night before. He'd tried blaming the vodka, he'd have given anything to believe that excuse, but he knew it was a lie. No, it was because he'd been truly scared of losing Edward.

The thought was an odd one.

He'd never been afraid of losing Sarah, not until the end when everything was unravelling. But Ed…_He's far too young for you._ His mind argued. _Both you and he would be ridiculed. Besides, who's to say he doesn't want someone his own age? A _girl_ his own age, at that._

Roy despised his mind at that point.He swiftly told his logical side to shut the fuck up, because the other side of his conscience was telling him there was always a chance; that he'd never had anyone reject him before. Then again, Ed wasn't like any of those he'd been interested in before either…

The argument could continue for hours without conclusion. Fortunately, the car pulled in to the prison car park and gave him an excuse to put the subject far from his thoughts.

Inside the prison they were lead to the interview room by a blond officer with a tooth-pick in his mouth. He'd explained that the prisoner had confessed the night before, that their main clues were a sports syndicate, and that he had the tooth-pick because someone had banned smoking on the prison premises.

"This is the room." The prison warden told them. "The prisoner will be escorted in by some of the guys, you shouldn't be waiting too long." They entered and he waved, ambling back down the corridor.

The prisoner was Bobby Templeton, the thief from the bank heist and the brother of famous soccer star Richard Templeton. He was twenty nine, had an office job, had a girlfriend around the same age…your average joe. Unless he was exceptionally greedy, there didn't appear to be any reason for him to entertain the idea of robbing a bank.

"There's no gambling debts, no overdue bills, no chance of him losing his job either. Well, there wasn't until now. There's also no link between him and Ling Ye that I can see." Hughes reported, flicking through his clipboard of case notes. Suddenly the door opened and Jumpy entered, now renamed Bobby. He sat with a resigned expression at the interview table, head bowed, and a prison officer behind his right shoulder. Her badge named her as Lieutenant Ross.

"Hello Mister Templeton." Hughes began, setting a dictaphone on the table. "We're here about your account of the robbery on the first of April, two thousand and seven. We'd just like a brief outline of why you committed the act, please. When you're ready." The man across the table looked at them both with recognition and then sighed.

"I did it for my brother." He began, quietly.

"Go on." Hughes prompted.

"He was being pressured by someone, someone powerful, to get a lot of money. He wouldn't tell me why, but he couldn't pay it himself. He's fallen on hard times, the divorce with his wife stripped him of most of his stuff, money too." Roy winced. "He asked me for help, but I have less money than he does. We both paid as much as we could afford to, Hell he even sold his house, but…in the end I had to take drastic measures."

"That's when you tried to rob the bank, correct?" The man nodded. "I still can't understand what this has to do with our case." Hughes said. Lieutenant Ross leaned forward.

"Tell them about the email." She ordered quietly. Bobby nodded again.

"Okay, but Richard had nothing to do with it, the bank idea was my own, okay?" No-one answered, but he continued anyway. "Before we went to the bank, I was at Richard's house. He had an email; it was from someone called IOU1."

X

Rosetta held Elysia as she took her first step onto the ice. Her little feet were tied securely into a small pair of blue training skates, and she held on tight to the Russian trainer's hand as she lead the child across the ice. She pushed Elysia gently across a small gap to Winry, who caught her again. She shrieked with delight,

Ed was at the side of the rink with Al as Gracia had gone to fetch drinks, and Al was smiling happily at the sight of the six year-old on the ice.  
"Brother." Al called suddenly. "Do you like Mister Mustang?" Ed shrugged.

"He's a sarcastic bastard, but he's not bad."

"No I meant…Do you like him the way Gracia likes Mister Hughes?" Ed's head shot round in shock and he went red.

"I…um…Why the hell did you ask that?" He stammered.

"You just seem to act differently around him." Al answered, smiling slightly. "It's like you're happier, and you're always watching him. And you never zone out when he's speaking like you do with other people, and you get this funny look on your face when he smiles and…-"

"Okay, okay! Enough, sheesh. Alright, yes, I do…kind of…um, like him. Is it that obvious?"

"I think only to the people that know you." Al answered thoughtfully.

"Yeah, them and Gracia…" Ed mumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing. Don't tell anyone, okay Al? Especially not him. Please." Edward requested, pleading with his eyes.

"Alright brother. I won't tell anyone."

"Thanks Al."

"But it doesn't stop me interfering though."

"Al!"

**A/N: **Yay, chapter 12 done and DONE. Now to plug the laptop in so it doesn't run out of battery and delete it all…


	13. Blame Simon, 'Cos He Said

**A/N:** Back again to annoy you all! With another chapter too…Gah, I'm so tired. A big BTW: football, uh, soccer, is majorly popular in England (More's the pity) so lots of characters are going to know this throw away character Richard that I made…J Don't be surprised that they do, and don't get confused if I call it football. --; I'll always mean soccer, We just don't call it soccer over here. Cause Britain likes to be inconveniently different. :thumbs up:

Oh, and I did promise fluff in this chapter... :evil chuckle:

**Reviewer Of the Chapter **

Fullmetal LVR - Because you always leave reviews that make me feel people are understanding my writing. You let me know I'm still on the right track. :D Thankies. But that's from chapter 11, because only three people reviewed the last one and either they were a two-second jobbie or the writer had had the honour of being in this section already. L But that's okay, because Fullmetal LVR is great and deserves it anyway. :)

**Don't Slip on the Splinters**

Chapter 13 by Forgetful - Unlucky for some…

Roy perked up at the sound of the familiar address.

"IOU1? As in, initials?"  
"Yes." Bobby answered. "It said something like 'you have a month to pay the rest or you'll have to face the consequences for our loss'. Words to that affect at least. I emailed back saying I was his brother, and they suggested the robbery. They even sent some people to help me with it, in case it went wrong." Roy remembered The Hulk and Slimy. Those must be the men that had been sent to help. He'd known there was something odd about the group…

"Did you know the men? Can you tell us about IOU1, or have any information about their whereabouts?" Hughes gave him a look, questioning was his job, but Roy ploughed on anyway.

"No. I'd never seen the men before, I don't even know their names. You were there, you probably know as much as I do about them. I don't know anything about IOU1 either, only their email address. I was never given any other way of contacting them." Roy's shoulders drooped. There was a lead there, if only this man hadn't been so docile he might actually have known something useful.

"Alright. Does your brother know anything?" Hughes asked. Bobby shook his head.

"I don't know. I haven't heard from Richard since the day before the robbery. They've probably got him by now."

Roy and Hughes left the prison with new information but no new leads. The only thing they had to go on was that IOU1 were after big money, and seemed to have links with sports celebrities.

"Wait!" Roy said suddenly. "Before Omi died, he told me to look up a competition a few months back. I forgot all about it after his murder but…Damn, there could be a major clue there." Hughes looked interested.

"Tell Tony about it, he'll do all the research on it for us. While we're there, I'll get some information on where this Richard Templeton is hiding out." Roy nodded and opened the car door. It was back to the police station on his day off.

X

The station was quite busy for a Sunday, but where other organisations might close for the Sabbath, justice stopped for no crime on any day. Or so many of the posters around the place claimed. Roy and Hughes strode through this bustling police headquarters toward the techie room.

Inside the techie room was dark, lit only by flickering computer screens and blinking lights. The men inside were focussed on their desktops and headphones, unscrambling messages and following email addresses to criminals.

"Heya Hughes!" A young man with glasses came up and he and Hughes grasped hands in a friendly greeting.

"Morning Tony. We need your expertise today my friend." Hughes replied.

"Sure, what with?"

"Well, firstly we need you to follow up that link to IOU1 pretty sharpish."

"I've been working on it for a while Hughes, but the security around their systems is so tight, you could stick a lump of rock up its arse and it'd come out a diamond." Tony answered disappointedly.

"I see. Well that's our best lead, so I hope you can crack it soon. Anyway, we also need everything you've got on the last competition that Ling Ye and Omi Chikawari were in."

"Okay, I can have that done by this afternoon." Tony nodded.

"Finally, we need you to find Richard Templeton." Hughes requested, slipping the notes he was reading from back into his police-jacket pocket.

"Richard Templeton?" Tony repeated, surprised. "As in, midfielder for Hampstead Moors; Richard Templeton?"

"Yeah, that's the guy."

"Well that's easy. He's playing a match on Saturday, and it's been major headlines for weeks that he's gone into police protection. He got threatened for money, something about big bets on his team. Isn't that why his brother robbed that bank?" Roy and Hughes looked at each other, realising that they should make time to watch the news in future.

"That's great." Hughes answered. "Do you know where he is?"

"Well, I'm not supposed to, but…"

X

Ed finished plaiting the little girl's hair and she turned to grin at him.

"Does it look like yours?" She asked. Her hair was a little too short, and so the plait was tiny, the end off it looking a little like frayed rope. Ed wasn't very good with hair, in truth his hair was only in a plait to stop it whipping round to lash at his eyes during practise.

"Uh, yeah..." He laughed nervously. Ed had never been good with children, and his thoughts were drawn back to how Roy had dealt with her the Saturday before. "With a crown you'll look like you're going to your princess's ball!" He tried. She beamed and latched her thin arms around his neck, placing a sloppy baby kiss on one cheek. It seemed he'd made the right move. Suddenly, the double doors opened with a creak, and the group turned to see Hughes and Roy enter the arena.

"Look, look Uncle Roy!" The little girl called, stumbling as fast as she could up the steps through the bleachers. "Eddard made my hair like a real Princess!" Her clumsy six-year-old tongue stumbled over the name.

Roy walked down the steps to her and bent down.

"Did he now? Let me see." She showed it to him proudly. "Well, would you look at that? You are a little princess after all." She grinned at him.

"Daddy, look! Come see!" She began climbing again, this time toward her father who'd managed to produce a camera from nowhere. Roy could have sworn he heard numerous 'these will look so adorable!' and 'must take these to work to show everyone...' comments. He shuddered.

Walking down to the rest of the group, he heard Rosetta order Winry to come with her and Gracia.

"There's no point training after all this who-hah anyway." She told them crisply in her Russian accent, which was becoming clearer as the affects of the night before wore off. Winry grinned at the prospect of shopping with willing victims. Speaking of victims...

"Ed, Al, come on! Let's shop." She grinned evilly.

"Actually Winry I...still don't feel that great, I'm gonna go home and rest...sleep. Yeah, sleep." Al covered nervously.

"Yeah, sorry Winry but I want to stay here. I need to, um, work on that stiffness problem Rosetta wanted me to iron out." Roy wondered at how the boys could concoct such excuses at such short notice. But, if Winry had managed to rope them into shopping trips their whole lives, he supposed anyone would develop such a skill...For their own sanity at least.

"Roy?" She asked, turning those pleading eyes that all girls could manage on the policeman.

"Uh, afraid not. I'm out of money and have to visit Russel soon anyway. Sorry Winry." There, he wasn't so bad at it either. She pouted for a moment and then went to bother Hughes, who assured her that no, helping her metally recuperate through retail therapy would not be an acceptable excuse for him to skip a day of work.

Ed sighed beside him. All men in the room were united by their attempts at escaping the torture of a shopping spree, and a collective sigh was heard as the girls left. Just as they thought they were safe, Winry stuck her head around the door.

"Hey, come on Al. We'll take you home." She ordered. Al looked towards the trio beside him.

"Help me brother." He hissed. Ed shrugged.

"Sorry, but I can't afford to lose my mind so close to the preliminaries. Bye Al!" He called as the boy marched dejectedly up the steps toward his impending doom. Hughes followed him, crying down the corridor for Gracia to take the camera to get some good shots of Elsyia shopping for him.

Ed scuffed his blade against the ice as the door swung closed.

"Now I have nothing to do for the rest of the afternoon." He moaned.

"I thought you were going to practise becoming less stiff?" Roy arched an eyebrow at him sceptically.

"Can't do that with only one person." Ed huffed, skating toward the exit of the rink.

"Oh, come on _Eddard_," Roy coaxed. "Look, I'll even help." He took down a pair of skates his size from the rack and tied them on fluidly. His footsteps came out as thunks on the steps thanks to the blades as he walked to meet Edward.

"No, that's...-"

"You're practising and that's it." Roy pushed the blond back out onto the ice gently and skated past him toward the CD player. "If you want to make it at the Olympics then you have to."

"Winry isn't practising." Edward sulked petulantly.

"Winry doesn't have the problem that you do either." Edward shut his mouth against following protests. Mustang was right, and he would have to do something about the problem eventually...

He sighed, resigned.

"Right, just how do you suppose I go about solving this fault then, Mustang?" Roy smirked.

"We'll have to work it out as we go along, won't we?" Ed skated over to him with his arms crossed. He was getting cold standing around in his thin skating shirt and track-bottoms doing nothing anyway.

Roy left his side and turned on the music again.

"Now," Roy began. "How do you stand?" Edward huffed for a moment, but then straightened up and arched his back, perfectly poised. He raised an eyebrow at the older male.

"Satisfied?"

"Well, that's one thing under your belt. Okay, now move for me." Ed gave him an incredulous look and then skated in a small circle. "And that's fine too. I noticed this when Rosetta mentioned something about it earlier; you're perfect on your own. It's with Winry that you don't know how to move equally fluidly."

"That's probably because I have eight stone of blonde ice-dancer to heave up into a stag lift."

"Even when you're _not_ lifting. Come here." Roy held his arms out.

"What?"

"Show me how you hold her." Ed went red and grumbled under his breath, but he inched closer to the policeman and gingerly placed his hands on his waist, invading his personal space. "You're too tense."

"Well, that's 'cause you're taller, broader, stranger and more _male_ than my usual partner. Sorry about being a little picky about the discrepancies." Ed retorted sarcastically. Roy just laughed at him, making him angrier.

"I'd say that was a good thing, but that's just me. Look, just relax. This is what you've been doing your whole life, you can complete any move flawlessly, never mind the partner." Roy urged. Ed tried his damndest to get rid of any and all thoughts about how it was Roy's waist he was holding onto, and Roy's breath finely caressing his cheek, and Roy's chest moving gently up and down in front of him.

He'd never done a worse job of anything.

Still, thanks to years of training he schooled his body to relax a little. Not enough to pass for excellence, but enough to be able to skate. Roy smiled at him.

"That's better. But see how stiff your back is..." He ran a hand down Ed's spine, and the blond bit his bottom lip at the pin and needles that erupted from his touch. "You need to mould yourself to your partner, think of them as an extra limb; that's what Mrs Ashton told Riza and I." Ed nodded, hiding his eyes behind his hair. Roy sighed. "Are you going to try it then?"

"Okay." Ed replied quietly. He moved a little closer and tried to relax the tensed muscles in his shoulders. Oddly, though his back had tensed as well, it was easier to release. That would be a thought to ponder.

Next he moved his hands. Instead of resting his fingertips on the waistline of Roy's trousers, he gripped his hips firmly.

"How's that?" He asked, still quiet.

"Much better, think you can lift me?" Roy grinnned in mirth.

"Maybe, there's enough air in your head, you might go up just like a balloon." Ed replied, nudging him with his shoulder.

"But you're still not completely sure, are you?" Roy released him, and then suddenly reversed the roles. He took Edward by the waist and pulled him close, and Ed's hands flew up to steady himself against the chest in front of him. Blushing madly, he moved them to the upper arms of his stand-in partner. "This is how I would do it. Skate with me." Without thinking, Ed pushed off and they flew across the ice. Roy had no qualms about touching during skating. He didn't worry about knees making contact or quickly changing his grip, but what Edward noticed most prominently was that Roy, although holding him almost intimately, left him alone.

He didn't try to synch, or concentrate on making sure the movements were exact, he just trusted Edward to rely on his own skills.

While the footwork was sloppy and there was little rhythm and no pattern to the strange dance, it still flowed better than the routines Winry and he worked so hard on.

Roy noticed the shocked look on Edward's face, and felt a strange feeling well up inside at having out it there. Following an urge, he gripped Ed's waist and lifted him up.

A yelp of surprise worked its way out of the blond as he was lifted into the air, momentum making his braid writhe. Roy let him down gently, and Ed's skates connected with the ice gracefully. He was closer than before after the landing, so close that if he moved so much as a centimetre, they would be flush against eachother...  
"At least _tell_ me when you're going to spontaniously throw me into the air. Why the hell did you lift me anyway?"

"You're so short and light I didn't even realise you'd left the ground..." Edward's eyes flashed with fury and he pushed Roy's chest in protest.

"I am NOT SHORT!" But Roy hadn't been prepared for the sudden attack, and he fell backwards clumsilly, knocking Ed off his feet too.

The first thing he felt was the bruise most certainly developing on his rear end, and then the biting cold of the ice beneath him. Edward groaned from his position on top. Putting his hands either side of Roy's head to push himself up, he found his own face hovering only inches above Roy's. He could feel their legs entangled, Roy's arms steadying him around his waist and their abdomens touching. All the flushes of the evening combined into one mortified blush.

The music played on behind them, heedless of the situation. Roy leant upwards and whispered in his ear.

"Ed, the ice is cold..."

It was Roy's fault anyway, he was the one who'd wanted them to skate together.

So Edward replied by pushing him down and crushing their lips together.

**A/N:** SQUEEEE! I couldn't resist, I wanted wanted WANTED to put them together and I couldn't wait any longer! Plus...There was no other way to get them out of that situation without everything being uncomfortable for another chapter. So...YAY! Someone bought them a clue, finally. :D

Review please!


	14. You've Got Two Lives Down

**A/N:** SQUEE! I'm going to Paris in two days, so there won't be an update for a while. I'll try and get another one out before I leave, but I might not be able to. I must leave the RoyEd behind me! D: Okays, I'll shut up and get on with it now…XD

**Reviewer of the Chapter**

Ooh, before you read on. I'm hoping to break the 100 review mark. Please help me! Arigatou.

**Don't Slip on the Splinters**

Chapter 14 – I Think I Love You

He'd never tasted something so wonderful in his life, nothing like that brief touch ever before. Pink lips of velvet and a warm body beneath his own. For a moment Roy tightened his grip around Edward's waist and seemed to pull him closer. For a moment everything was perfect, for a moment.

Ed broke the kiss and opened his eyes, which had closed at some point. The last taste of Roy lingered on his lips, and golden orbs met with hazy onyx; that was the point when everything came into focus.

"Oh, shit!" Ed cursed, pushing himself up off the startled, but not opposed, police officer and skating fast back across the ice. Roy got up clumsily after him, mind slightly fogged and lacking the dexterity that the blond had on the ice. He wasn't fast enough to catch up with the ice dancer on the rink.

Ed reached the side of the rink and pulled at his laces. Tears welled up to blur his vision, and his fingers couldn't get purchase on the skates that had suddenly gone from a love to an inconvenience. He just wanted to get out of there and pretend he'd never done something so _stupid_. Finally ripping one boot from his foot, he frantically pulled at the other as he heard the hum of skates behind him.

Arms encircled his waist and pulled him backwards into a warm chest, and the first tear made its salty path down his cheek.

"I'm sorry. God I'm sorry, _please_ let me go." Ed pleaded, refusing to look at the man behind him. Roy turned the boy round and embraced him properly.

"It's okay." Roy lifted Edward's tearstained face gently by the chin. "It's okay." He leant in and captured the rosy lips he'd been allowed to caress before. Ed gasped but Roy didn't allow him to pull away. He ran his hand down Edward's spine again and this time the blond physically shivered, gripping the collar of Roy's shirt with both fisted hands. Roy's hands wandered up to the tie that bound the blond tresses in their plait and pulled it out gently. Ed felt his hair cascade around his shoulders, and Roy's fingers entangled themselves in it. His one ice skate lay abandoned beside them.

When Roy's cold fingers brushed Ed's stomach, he moaned and pulled away, breathing heavily. Roy saw bruised lips framed by molten gold , and buried his face in the crook of the teen's neck, placing soft kisses along his exposed collar bone.

"What…Does this mean?" Edward asked quietly, barely audible over the soft music still playing from the speakers. Roy didn't respond for a few moments, face hidden in creamy skin, but eventually he smiled against Ed's neck.

"It means that your brother was right."

"Huh?"

"He said there was someone out there for me. I just had to find them, find you…" Edward had never heard anything so corny in his life, but couldn't stop the overjoyed smile that sprang to light his face. Roy hugged him tightly, and his watch glinted at him, displaying 5:52.

"Damn!" He exclaimed, releasing the blond and throwing on his coat. "I was supposed to be at Russell's twenty minutes ago!" He ran up the stairs toward the doors, and Ed watched him go with a crestfallen expression at having been dropped so quickly.

Halfway up, Roy stopped, turned round and jogged back down the steps. At the bottom he drew the golden haired boy toward him and kissed him again.

"See you later." He whispered against Edward's lips, before taking off up the stairs again. Ed grinned to himself and put his boot back on. He took off onto the ice with a dreamy expression having taken over the disappointment, and he danced.

X

Roy pulled up outside the forensics department and turned off the engine of his car, stepping out into the fading sunshine. He decided it was a very, very good Sunday.

He passed Gladys, the highly unattractive, fifty year-old secretary that had replaced Barbie, and was glad it wasn't some bimbo flirting with him. The dull puke-green paint even seemed more inviting. He began to hum as he counted the door numbers; 345, 346, 347, 348…

Finally he reached door 356 and he pushed it open.

His humming stopped.

Russell was leaning over Zak, and the doctor looked a little uncomfortable. At his entry, they both jumped and Russell stood up to come and greet him. Zak went bright red.

Roy raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"Hey Roy, how can I help?" Russell asked, a little irked at having been interrupted.

"I don't need anything from you today Russell, stop wishing me death by scalpels."

"Scalpels? What scalpels?" He replied innocently.

"Never mind. Hughes wanted to know if you were free to from the 31st."

"What for?" Russell asked suspiciously. "It's not another photo party, is it?" He narrowed his eyes.

"Ha ha, no, don't worry. It's a case trip."

"For Ling Ye?" Roy shrugged.

"I can only assume so. I'm supposed to go too, so it's probable."

"Okay, I'll keep my schedule clear. And you, Lenning, you have three weeks recuperation, correct?"

"Yes…Why?"

"You're coming. Fletcher has to stay here, I won't let him go somewhere compromised when there's a murder case going on, so you can be my assistant in his place. The police force budget will finance it, think of it as a holiday." He winked. "Where is it anyway, Roy?"

"I know as much as you do." He replied. "I'm going to see Hughes tonight though, so I'll find out what he's up to for you."

"Right-o, thanks." Russell grinned at him as he turned to leave.

"You two play nice." He gave them one last questioning look and then closed the door.

X

When Ed got home he could hear Alphonse upstairs, and he went into the kitchen in search of instant noodles. His excuse was he was too happy to be bothered to make a proper meal.

Setting the kettle to boil, he flopped down on the nearest chair and ghosted his fingertips over his lips. He'd been doing that all evening, and he could still feel the tingle of another's lips on his own every time he touched on the memory.

"What're you doing, brother?" Al asked, walking into the kitchen.

"Making noodles."

"Here we go again." Al sighed. "What have I told you about eating proper meals? And why are you smiling like that? It's kind of weird…" He slid into a chair opposite Ed at the table and studied his sibling.

"I'm just happy…"

"Who are you and what have you done with my brother?"

"Okay, look, I'm going to tell you something, but you can't tell Winry. She'll never let it go. Can you promise me that?" Ed looked Al seriously in the eye.

"Sure, but you know she'll find out somehow." Ed winced.

"We can pray, anyway, come here." He leant in and whispered in Al's ear. Soon, a large grin spread across the younger Elric's face.

"I knew it! I _knew_ it." He hugged his brother and smiled at him. "Well done, I approve. You two are going to be great together." Ed felt the irresistible smile well up onto his lips again.

"Thanks Al."

X

Hughes was waiting in the car park for Roy when he pulled up.

"Sorry, I was held up by traffic." Roy excused himself as the window rolled down. Hughes rolled his eyes.

"Never mind, but before we go you need to come into the station."

"What for?" Roy quirked one eyebrow.

"To save time tomorrow. Come on." Roy reluctantly followed, locking his car behind him.

"This isn't about the case trip, is it?"

"Yes and no. Here we are." Hughes pushed open a door into Sciezska's office and walked through to his own door.

Inside a white board had been set up, with pictures of Omi and Ling Ye, Bobby Templeton and a footballer that was surely his brother, Richard. Beside them was a picture of a man with a hooked nose, and Roy recognised him immediately.

"That's the guy who shot Omi Chikawari." Roy said, sure of the identity. Hughes nodded.

"Good, we hoped you'd recognise him. He's called Vermine Trapp, and he's part of a French and Russian mafia collaboration. He's been on our records for a while, he's quite elusive, and the French police are falling over themselves trying to get to him."

"Okay, France then?"

"No. His gang name is 'Rat Trap', he's thirty-one years old, brown hair, birth mark under the left armpit and blood type O. We got all this information from Scotland Yard." Hughes said, pushing his glasses further up his nose.

"Scotland Yard?" Roy repeated. "They don't usually work on petty cases…" Hughes nodded at him.

"They were the ones dealing with Richard Templeton, though he doesn't know that. Now, thanks to you we've managed to connect this mafia group to the double murders _and_ the blackmailing and gambling." Roy sat down, he could tell a long speech was on its way. "We got Tony to look up Omi and Ling Ye's last skating competition. The Icecrystal Tournament in November. In that tournament, not only did they miss Gold, but they didn't even get Bronze. It was a lapse, they were tipped to win. Tony dug out some tapes for us." Hughes turned on the television in the corner of his room and pressed 'play'. A rink came into focus, and judges' scores played out across the bottom of the screen. It focussed on Omi and Ling Ye, looking miserable, and then panned out a little. Beside them were three men and a woman.

The first man was their coach, Roy knew from having to investigate him after the initial murder. The woman and taller man he didn't know, but he was positive that the last was Slimy, now named Vermine.

"That's Trapp." He pointed to the screen as Hughes paused the recording.

"Yes. And we have more footage showing that Vermine was at Richard Templeton's last losing game as well. Now we just need to go and see Richard and hope he can connect the dots for us."

"Hmm. What about the money?" Roy asked. Mafia groups that he'd heard of had never had a problem with money, usually being rich and influential.  
"This group look well enough on the outside, but an inside agent has told us that there's been discord and they've only recently quelled an uprising with the ranks. On top of that, they're meant to be broke."

"Ah. I can see why that might be a motive for threatening for money, and perhaps murder too. But what I don't understand is, why target sportsmen? We know Omi and Ling Ye were killed because they owed this group, but surely a fading pop star would be a more suitable target?"

"Now that we don't know. I'm hoping our Templeton friends can tell us." Hughes answered, rubbing his chin.

"I see." Roy turned the television off and ejected the tape, putting it into the evidence vault. Hughes was staring into space behind him, working something out.

"You know, I can't think why any of the gang members would be at the Icecrystal Tournament. It doesn't make any sense." He began to pace, striding across the room in time with his thoughts. "What purpose would they have at a skating competition?"

"Perhaps the gang was keeping them under surveillance? There would be no chance of them escaping with the money then."

"Maybe you're right." Hughes sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Never mind, let's think about it tomorrow at work. Not now, because now I can go home and see my darling Elysia, so now is not appropriate. Besides, you need to tell me how things are going between you and Edward." Roy smirked and blushed a little.

"Well, actually there's a lot to tell…"

X

Hughes burst through his front door and hung his briefcase on the hook in the porch.

"Honey, I'm home!" He called to his wife. "And you owe me twenty pounds, darling. I won the bet!" He grinned and moved into the kitchen, kissing his wife on the cheek as she stirred a pot over the Aga stove.

Roy sighed and slipped off his shoes, listening to the tittering from the kitchen area. Elysia came down the stairs rubbing her eyes, almost tripping over the end of her nightgown because of the length. Roy picked her up and gave her a small hug before carrying her to her parents. She simply yawned at him and went back to sleep on his shoulder.

"Evening Gracia." Roy greeted quietly. The lady smiled back at him warmly.

"I have hot stew here, there's plenty for both of you." She assured, just as low. Hughes came over and began to stroke Elysia's hair over Roy's shoulder. She opened her eyes blearily.

"Hello sweetheart. Were you waiting for Daddy to come home?" She nodded and held out her arms. Hughes took her from Roy and kissed her forehead tenderly, tucking his arm under her so that she could sit on it like a stool. She went back to sleep almost immediately. (And with this paragraph I prove FMA wrong; Hughes is perfectly fine, ya' hear? SpoilerSPOILERHe's too fatherly to dieSPOILERspoiler)

"If you'd be so kind Gracia, that smells fantastic." Gracia smiled and got out two bowls, pouring the stew into both and ripping off part of a baguette to go with it. When Hughes sat down at the table before his meal, Elysia woke up again, and he kept her happy in her half-awake state by feeding her bits of bread dipped in the stew gravy.

Roy sat down gratefully and began to eat his share. He'd been having late dinners at the Hughes' house for years, he'd even lived with them for a while when he couldn't face returning to the empty house without Sarah. He looked around the table, at Hughes playing trains with Elysia and her food, and Gracia reading a Home-Living magazine, and thought that those people were his family. It was a comforting feeling.

His own mother had passed away two years before, and his father had been a figure he'd never known. The only thing his mother had ever mentioned was that he'd been a visitor from America, and Roy supposed that that's where he'd gone back to and remained.

As he finished his stew, Gracia piped up again.

"So, what's all this about a bet?" She asked, closing her magazine.

"You do recall that we had a wager on who would initiate the inevitable relationship between Roy and Edward." Roy's head shot up and Gracia just looked thoughtful.

"Oh yes, how's that going Roy?" Roy just looked at her wide eyed.

"Um…What?"

"Gracia and I had a bet on which one of you would confess first, and from what you told me on the way home it was Edward, correct? I knew you were too work-driven to even consider it until after the case was solved."

"Betting on my love-life, what are you, animals?"

"No, worse, we're busy-bodies." Hughes grinned at him and Elysia stirred in his arms. "Ah better get this little one to bed. And Roy, I think you need to tell my wife what you told me on the way over. Just as evidence for my twenty quid.

A/N: DOOOOOONE! Okies, no more for a week. That's why you got a full relationship creation here, just to tide you over until I get back.

Yay for Roy. I want Hughes as my dad. 


	15. You've Got One Life Left

**A/N:** Guys I'm late, I know, forgive me. But I'm sure you will after my excuses. Yes. Excuses. Plural.

Firstly, the holiday was great, despite getting lost on the metro several times. I saw some crazy places, and went right to the top of the Eiffel Tower! And I'm scared of heights, so I'm proud of myself.

Anyway, the day I came back I got bad news. We had to put my cat, Fred Winter, down because he had lung and bowel cancer. We didn't want to see him suffer, and he could hardly breathe as it was, so we said goodbye and now he's finding it easier to catch birds thanks to some additional angel wings. :) Love you Freddie.

Finally, I came back also to four English Language exams, damn GCSEs, which I have just finished. Even though I realised with hindsight that I had spelt 'article' as 'artical' the whole way through the reading paper. Eh heh heh...

The great news I came back to was over one hundred reviews! MAN I LOVE YOU GUYS! You really made my week better.

**The 100th Reviewer**

Of Apples and Honey - By gum, we're just being thrown together by the fates! Whaddya know, I review you, you review me, you give me over a hundred reviews...My official Roy!Cop partner in crime! No pun intended.

:D If you've never met her, go read her stuff now. Especially Sink or Swim! Really, I promise, it's good. But you have to be prepared for EnvyEd! Honest, it comes outta' nowhere...And she's younger than me and yet still writes better...My ego is dead...

**Don't Slip on The Splinters**

Chapter 15 - Turning Points

'Tomorrow at work' came too soon for Roy's liking. He'd had to get up early -from his unplanned crash on the couch at the Hughes' place- to drive back to his apartment, uniform and other necessities being there at his inconvenience. When he finally did get to work, he was greeted with Hughes' board of photos again. Not the smiling Elysia kind either.

"What's first?" Roy drawled, remembering the schedual Hughes had outlined the day before.

"We need to find Templeton, the famous one. He's our big link to this IOU1 organisation, along with Vermine Trapp, but he'll be a little trickier I'm sure." Hughes replied, obscenely cheerful for the hour.

"Well then let's get going. Havoc warned me that my ex mother-in-law was on the way in." Roy strapped his walkie-talkie around his waist and grabbed his hat, waiting at the door for Hughes to catch up.

Tony's techie room was no different to their last visit. It remained a dingy hole filled with the buzz of moniters and flourescent electric light, filled with nerds of all shapes and sizes. Tony himself closed down a game of Runescape when the pair came in to interrupt his boredom.

"Not busy today then?" Hughes probed.

"Only paperwork, and no-one's going to pick paperwork over doing nothing or playing video games." Tony answered. "I take it you're here for the information on Richard Templeton?"

"If you would be so kind." Tony opened a drawer that looked fit to burst, and rummaged through the crumpled paperwork and documents, discarding presumably unnecessary ones onto the lino floor. The techies were notorious for their disorganisation skills, but their skills in everything else technological allowed them to get away with their lack of order.

"Here." He handed Roy, who happened to be closest, a stack of creased paper dotted with coffee stains. It had dates, addresses, names... "I just included any information I could find. The most likely contacts are at the top, but there's other addresses and links there if they don't work out. Can't get stuck with that much. It'll take you two days to search all those places if you need to anyway." Roy looked thoughtfully at the top addresses and committed a couple to memory.

"You have back-ups of all this information?" Hughes asked, peering over Roy's shoulder.

"Of course." Tony answered incredulously, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world and only a moron would ask.

"Right, then we're off."

"Wait!" Tony grabbed a red Sharpie marker and drew a circle around the second address down, marking it with an asterix also. "That's the address he was last reported to be at on the police sysem. Try it first." Hughes nodded at him, and then began hustling Roy out the door.

"Thanks Tony!"

"Any time!" And then the secretive door of the techies closed once more.

"Right," Hughes began again, leading their descent down the back staircase. "We just have to get him to make a statement, give us any and all information on this IOU mafia group and then make sure he's willing to testify in court when we catch them."

"If we catch them." Roy corrected, clutching the papers unsecured in their file close to his chest as they burst out of the fire-exit doors and toward their police car.

"No, when we catch them. Roy, what have I told you about a little optimism?"

"Optimism isn't my thing. I say expect the very worst and then be delighted when it doesn't happen, or prepared when it does." Hughes pulled a face at him and they got into the car. Roy noticed a new accessory and sighed.

"Hughes, must I have your overly cute daughter smiling angelically at me everywhere I go at work?" He asked, looked at the photo grinning back at him from the dashboard disdainfully.

"Yes!" But it was not Hughes' voice which answered him. Sneeking a look over one shoulder, Roy almost groaned at the sight of little Elysia belted up in the back, a stuffed dog with a patched-up leg under her arm in a bear hug. "Den says hello, Uncle Roy!"

"Hello Elysia, hello Den. Now, Hughes? Care to explain?"

"Well..." He laughed nervously. "Gracia's working at the church today, they're having a jumble sale, and she couldn't take Elysia since she'd get lost in those large crowds." Roy tried to imagine large crowds at a church jumble sale; he found out that he couldn't. "So I cleared it with the Sargent and now she's coming with us to visit a football star, aren't you honey?"

"Uh-huh! I'm gonna' get his autogwaph." Roy fought down an oncoming headache.

"Alright, but you're explaining to him why he's being interviewed about an extremely sensitive case by an obsessive father and his adorable daughter."

"He'll never resist her." Hughes beamed.

"Right."

X

They knocked on the door of a small but well-decorated house. It would cost a fair bit on the rising property market that was booming, but wasn't some huge affair. The white plastic door opened to reveal a well built man in his late twenties, he had diamond studs in both ears, a boy-band hairstyle and huge bags under his eyes topped by hollowed cheeks.

"What do you want?" He asked, the exhaustion in his voice thick but still not enough to hide his caution. Roy flashed his badge.

"We're part of the SI City police force, are you Richard Templeton?"

"Shh!" The guy waved his arms in a universal 'lower the volume' sign. "Keep it down, wouldja'? I'm tryin ta' keep a low profile, y'know?"

"Can we come in Sir?"

"I dunno, no-one phoned me or nuffin'. And what's some cops doin' wiv a kid? I ain't s'pose ta open this door for anyone that's not been authorised."

"She's my daughter. I'm having some family issues at the moment and due to staff cuts couldn't take a day off. If you'd rather she wasn't around, I can put her in another room and I can promise you she won't touch anything. Sir, we're trying to solve a murder and let a young girl and her boyfirend rest in peace, would you co-operate? You can phone the police protection hotline and have us ID'd if you want." Templeton considered them for a long moment, a very long moment that dragged on enough to become uncomfortable. Finally he huffed.

"Well I trust ya' badge, ain't like them dicks are gonna' try a trick like this. They could jus' break in, break mah neck 'n run off with ma TV." Richard opened the door fully, and allowed the two policemen inside. Roy hoped to make the visit brief, as Templeton's speach was already grating on his nerves. As a police officer, he knew that most people who abbrieviated things were bad news, and usually started riots. Thus his sixth sense was blaring at him.

Inside was a very cream and biege affair; everything was light and open plan, with pluch coffee-coloured leather couches, low glass tables in the lounge and chrome in the kitchen. A woman with bleach-blonde hair, a mini-skirt and stillettos tottered over to them.

"Who are these two, babes?" She asked, hooking her arm around his.

"Coppers. Want help with a murder."

"But you ain't part of a murder. You're in summit' completely different." She bit a french manicured nail.

"We just want help with some information, we think your attackers may have had something to do with the murder." Roy reasoned. Suddenly, Elysia popped her head out from behind Hughes' leg, her eyes watching the huge plasma screen television and the horse-race playing on it.

"Aw! Who are you then, sweetheart? Aren't you jus' the cutest thing." The woman bent down to Elysia's level and cooed at her. The little girl smiled politely as her father had taught her.

"Ah, that's my little girl. She's come to Daddy's work for the day."

"Well, while the big boys talk business, d'ya' want some cookies? I have a new make-up kit that I bought, if Daddy thinks it's okay, we can do your nails!" The woman smiled at her, and Elysia looked up at her father.

"Sure honey, I don't really want you listening to this talk anyway. It's work stuff." Elysia nodded, it was something she'd heard a lot. Daddy's work was nasty, and she didn't want to hear about it. Besides, cookies and make-up sounded fun!

Hughes let go of his daughter's hand and she took the slender fingers of the blonde woman. Together they walked to the kitchen. Over her shoulder, the woman called back to Richard.

"Rich, don't ya' see what I mean about havin' one of these?" The man roled his eyes at her.

"Come on." He said, turning to the two remaining policemen. "We'll go in the lounge." He closed the double doors behind them and shut off the TV, successfully isolating them from the rest of the world.

"That was my wife Carly, in case you was wondering. Now, what did ya' want to know?"

"As much about the people who threatened you as possible. Where and how you conatacted them, any addresses, any people, everything you can think of that might be a lead. Please start with IOU1." Roy requested, sitting down on the edge of one leather recliners and taking out a notebook and biro.

"Well, I mostly contacted 'em by email. Ya'know? It was for backin', I wanna' play for England. Maybe go to some other country like David Beckham. They promised to give me a deal; I'd win a game wiv some amazin' goal, and they'd have a load 'o hot shots put money on me. Gambling, yeah? That sort of fing. Then they'd all get interested in me, 'n they'd back me 'n get some managers to sign me up, right. Only it didn't work like that, the first time I did okay, and they was pleased 'n got me an interview wiv some guy from Spain. But then I lost a game through a penalty, 'n that's when they said I had to pay back all the stuff they lost. I had to send it to some place in Russia. Here, the address is upstairs." He got up suddenly and opened the lounge doors, stomping up the carpeted stairs.

Roy and Hughes were taken aback a moment, after the whirlwind of information before them, but then Roy looked over his notes and sighed.

"Gambling. Well we knew money would be involved somewhere."

"We knew Russia would be involved somewhere too. What with Ling Ye and Omi heading there next and the winter Olympics being there, and now this..."

"Yeah.." Roy replied absently. "You think the same thing happened to Omi and Ling Ye, that they couldn't pay back what the company lost through gambling?"

"Seems likely. As long as we get that address from Templeton, we'll be able to track it back and..." A cry from upstairs interrupted Hughes' thinking. As one, both he and Roy jumped up and sped up the stairs, hastilly checking through the many bedrooms. The sounds of a struggle lead them to a room filled mostly by a large desk and computer, the rest of the space was taken up by a sturggling pair. One was Richard Templeton, the other a masked boy of around eighteen. For some unknown reason to him, Roy thought of Ed.

Hughes grappled with the boy, pulling him off the footballer and pinning his arms behind his back so he couldn't move. He held him there until all struggles and protests stopped, and then Roy bent down to his level. He simply couldn't believe the timing, and as unbidden as the image of Ed, the phrase Dues Ex Machina came to mind. It was all randomly placed thoughts, and he blamed it on the late nights.

"We are arresting you on the account of breaking and entering, assault and intention to cause grievious bodilly harm. You have the right to remain silent, but anything you do say may be used as evidence in court..." As he roled off the speech, Roy studied to boy, who's mask had been removed by Hughes who still held him. He didn't know him, but was fairly certain due to recent events that arresting him was a good idea.

Handcuffing him and hustling him down the stairs, Roy turned to Richard Templeton.

"Sorry about this, but I think it's best if you come down to the station, for your protection mainly." Richard nodded and followed Hughes gormlessly out to his car. Roy left and went to the kitchen.

Inside, Carly sat at the table, hidden from viwe until you looked closely. Elysia was held protected on her lap.

"What's going on? He told me ta' hide in the kitchen if enyfing happened, and it has...But...Is he okay?" She was almost in tears, hugging the little girl in her ams. Roy smiled at them both comfortingly.

"Just a break in. Everybody's fine, it's a good thing we were here. Bad timing on the kid's part though. We're going to take your husband down to the station as a safety precaution, you're welcome to come." She nodded tearfully, and let Elysia down from her lap. She ran over to Roy and hugged his leg, to which he bent down and lifted her into his arms. She didn't seem too upset, perhaps a little ruffled but nothing more.

"Did Daddy catch a baddy again?" She asked innocently.

"Yes he did. Now we can go back to the station to send him to jail." Roy replied, Elysia grinning at him in relief.Carly crept to his side and they left the house.

The moment they were out of the house, Hughes left the car door where the criminal was sat gloomilly, and took his daughter from Roy's waiting arms. He hugged her tightly.

She was held on his lap, away from the criminal in the back, as Roy got into the driver's seat, driving to the station with the Templeton's behind.

X

At the station, the kid was lead into the confinement cell and the Templeton's taken to a politely decorated waiting-room.

"Did you hit him with a bang, Daddy? And make sure that Mister Templee-ton was okay? And did he have a gun? I bet he was big and mean..." Elysia chattered on, fueled by the adrenalin after the initial shock. She was in Roy's arms again as her father searched the boot for notes and files. It had taken most of the day, and they'd missed lunch, but they'd got everything they'd set out to do done.

"What on Earth!" A cry came from behind them. Roy's grin faded as he recognised the voice, and he turned to fix the short, fur-edged woman a piercing glare. In his mind he just dared her to say enything remotely inappropriate in front of Elysia. "I leave you for two weeks and come back to find you with a chile! A _child!_"

"Actually," Hughes interrupted. "She happens to be my child. Roy just treats her like his own." For a moment, she stood in complete silence and Roy thought, hoped, she'd had some sort of standing heart-attack. Eventually, her mouth started to open and close like a fish.

"You left my daughter because you're _gay?" _The woman shrieked. "With him? Him who has a small child? My God, a little girl raised my heathens..." Elysia winced at the highpitched noise, but otherwise just gazed curiously at the strange old lady. Roy rolled his eyes while Hughes scoffed in pure horror.

"I think you've got quite the wrong end of the stick..."

"No _way!_ No offense Roy, but I'm happilly married." Roy edged through the double doors, and a few work collegues looked up and snickered at the now regular scene.

"You left your wife for another man!?" Roy went bright red, and he turned to reprimand the old woman when he saw a flash of blond in a stiff plastic chair. Golden eyes glared at him painfully, and words fled.

"Wife." Was all that was deadpanned before the boy turned on his heel and fled the station. Roy started after him, but the little girl in his arms weighed him down and he got to the door to be greeted by no sight of the older Elric.

"Edward?" He called dsperately. No answer returned, and so he turned to the old woman behind him and watched her smug smirk falter slightly as the full force of his furious gaze hit her.

A/N: Biiiig update. Didn't have time to check it over either...Okies, so you heard my excuses before, now I have one more. --; I won't have internet access for two weeks as my parents are going on holiday and I'm staying with my Grandma, but expect three chapters or more when I get back, 'Kay? Thanks, you've all been so patient.

Poor poor Ed, he didn't know that.

And, THE GAME! MUAHAHAHA!


	16. You Can Think Better

**A/N:** FWAHAHAHAHA! I got my grandma to drive me to my house for two hours so I could post this just for you guys! Well, and do my graphic design project, but more so I could post this chapter. Stupid parents going on holiday…So it's late but not _two weeks_ late, be thankful for small mercies.

And now it is 00:15 in the morning, and I'm shattered. Please excuse the crappiness; I have a terribly slow tired mind. XD

**Don't Slip on the Splinters**

Chapter 16 – Consequences

Roy glared at the triumphantly smiling old woman, a steady grip on the child in his arms. He fought down his temper for her sake. Had Elysia been elsewhere at that point, or Hughes as a matter of fact, he may have done something to regret.

"You witch." He snarled. "Sarah and I broke up through no-one's choice but our own. It's _over._ And although we tried, no-one was going to make the marriage work. Just because she's your little princess does not mean you have the right to haunt me, ruining my life at every good turn." He handed Elysia to Hughes and waved a finger in the face of the startled woman. "I'm going to fix the one thing going right for me at the moment, then I'm going to come back to work and you're not going to be there. If this continues I'll be forced to take more drastic measures, such as a restraining order. Good day." With that he turned away sharply and left the station, fellow police constables clapping and cheering him with well done's as he left the seething woman in his wake.

He decided to phone Al to see if Edward was with him, but as he dialled the number he found himself trying to understand Ed's reasoning. Even if Al hadn't mentioned that the divorce had been finalised, it was still fairly obvious that it was over between him and Sarah. The line suddenly picked up.

"Hello, Alphonse here. Who's speaking?"

"Al, it's Roy. Is Ed there with you?" Roy asked hurriedly, getting into the car and not caring that he was breaking the law by phoning someone and driving at the same time. Ed was more important.

Ed would always be more important.

"No, he's not here. Why…"

"If he turns up, keep him there and phone me, okay? And can you check to see if he's with Winry?"

"Alright, but Roy, I want an explanation. Not even you can hurt my brother."

"I promise Al." He hung up and focussed on driving to the most obvious place in the world; the rink.

It was deserted, as it would be Monday afternoon. He passed through reception in a flurry, and not even the most confident people stopped him when they noticed the determined –bordering on desperate- look on his face.

The rink was empty when he reached it. Feeling deflated, he turned and let the doors swing closed behind him, but on a whim turned back. Checking again, he found it just as empty as the first time. He let his eyes travel over every potential hiding spot, and then he shook his head, puzzled when he turned up nothing.

With a heavy heart he left the hall and walked back through deserted corridors and past the huge windows showing the ski slopes. He passed the reception, and the girl at the desk gave him a sad look.

"Sir." She called. He started and focussed on her wearily. "He went outside after you came in." She gave him a conspiratory wink, and he wondered how she knew before realising he was losing valuable time. With a new purpose, Roy thanked her quickly and sped out of the building to the car park. Glancing around, his heart jumped as his eyes caught a flash of gold. He jogged, he ran towards it. And when he reached it, it was Edward curled staring at the ground intensely, drawing in the dirt.

"I've been looking for you." Ed jumped about three feet, hand rising to clutch at his heart. When his eyes finally focussed on Roy, they hardened and he scowled.

"Well I don't want to talk to you." He replied, surprisingly calm.

"Why? That woman…"

"Al said you were divorced! You gave off all these signals, acted like you were free, _kissed_ me…And then some woman comes in and pulls this perfect view I have of you down with one word. You have a _wife._ Al told me about her; perfect, beautiful, blonde and successful. Never a hair out of place, the right damn age…A fucking wife…!"

"I don't have a 'fucking wife' anymore! She left me, the final damned divorce papers came through three days ago! I'm...I'm well and truly dumped..." Roy ran a hand through his hair shakily. He really had ended it all with Sarah, and it was hitting him then. Ed just looked stunned.

"Oh." He said quietly.

"Yeah. I'm free." Roy smiled, but Ed didn't smile back. He hung his head and covered his face with his hands.

"Oh fuck. I've completely screwed everything over now, haven't I? And now it's been decided by the fates that this will have been my one chance at happiness which I so ironically destroyed myself…" Ed was aware that he was rambling, but he didn't care. He'd potentially ruined the best thing in his life with one word. Exactly what he'd accused Roy's mother-in-law of but seconds before.

"I should probably mumble some crap about how you should have trusted me, but to be honest I'm just relieved that you're not leaving me." Ed went red.

"God knows why. How can I compare to the beautiful goddess cum business woman Sarah Parks? How can her amazing husband pick a scrawny runt like me over her?"

"Because you're cute and don't scream at me." Roy answered. Ed blanched.

"That's it? You're easily pleased." He grumbled under his breath.

"It's also because I've never met someone as passionate and graceful as you, as loving, as breathtaking…" Roy sighed and decided romantic speeches were never going to be his thing. Instead he sat down next to Ed and pulled him close, holding him as though he'd never let go. "No-one ever made my heart flip like you do, not even Sarah." He took Edward's mouth swiftly with his own, trying to convey how little he thought of Sarah any longer. How much more of his mind Edward occupied. How he occupied it more than some would consider a healthy amount. Through movement of lips and wandering hands he was expressing what he failed at with words, and as he pulled back, Ed had calmed.

"I'm sorry." He apologised breathlessly. "I've just been so worried about matching up to her…" In truth he'd agonised over it all night. Picking out his pros and cons against coifed, business woman goddesses. He'd lost every time, and gotten paranoid about it. Roy gently manoeuvred Ed's weary head into his lap, letting his exhaustion reveal itself fully. Roy was warm, and comfortable, and the fingers toying with his hair were sending him to sleep.

"Goddesses were never my type." Roy murmured back.

X

When Edward woke it was late afternoon, and the sun was starting to get lower in the sky. He estimated around four thirty to five o'clock. Above him Roy slept peacefully, arm draped across the boy in his lap. Smiling slightly, Ed sat up carefully, so as not to wake the sleeping man.

When he was completely free, he blew in Roy's ear; a trick he'd learnt from Al, who'd had to wake him for school many mornings and had developed the technique. Roy stirred and swatted at him blearily, but he didn't wake. After this failure, Edward decided to try a more orthodox method.

"Roy…" He called softly. "Roy, wake up. We've been here two hours." Roy simply groaned and ignored him. Ed fought back by closing in and placing kisses on his jaw, feathering them up to his mouth and placing one last one on his lips.

When Roy still didn't wake, he sighed and lent back. A hand snapped out and caught his waist, pulling him close and making him forget his own chaste kiss by drowning him in a lovers' clash of tongues and touches. He was like liquid against Roy when they were done.

"Bastard, you were awake the whole time."

"Caught red handed, the trick with the ear is a clever one. And it was certainly useful for kissing."

"Blame my brother."

"For the kissing?" Edward hit him playfully.

"If you ever mention 'kissing' and my brother in a sentence again I'll kill you."

"Well, that won't be a totally bad experience, if it's you…" He lent in until their noses were almost touching.

A gagging noise came from behind them. Roy turned to see Russell, lab coat slung over one shoulder. "Russell…"

"Oh I'm sorry, don't let me disturb your public fornication time." Roy rolled his eyes at him, but did get up off the disappointed blond beneath him and helped him to his feet.

"What do you want?" He asked.

"I was just confirming the case trip. The address Templeton gave us was a valid one in Russia, one that authorities there have been informed about. The boy that was arrested is Russian too; doesn't speak much English. At least he pretends he doesn't. A translator got some names and addresses from him too, but we don't know for sure he was sent by the same gang as IOU. So, all evidence leads to us going across boarder. Russia has to let us in on the case since it affected our citizens, and that's why I love our legal system." He grinned at them and Ed just blinked at him.

"You're going to Russia? When?" Ed asked.

"Good question. When Russell?"

"In three days." Russell answered, fishing out a ticket from his pocket.

"Three days!" Roy repeated as Russell threw the ticket in his direction, propelling it into his lap with a thump.

"Yup, make sure you pack for the cold and find your passport in that mess you call a house. Catch you later." Russell stalked off and the two reconciled partners looked at each other.

"That means you'll be there the same time as me, if you manage to stay there a week you'll even catch the preliminaries." Ed mentioned.

"Depends where I'm stationed, but the British Embassy is in Moscow, so I should be close." Roy stroked his cheek, "I should go pack, no doubt I'll leave something behind."

"Yeah, you should."

"I should."

"Well go on then."

"Oh, fine." Before he left, Roy kissed Edward again, surprised at how much his body craved the contact and the sweet kisses he'd only been privileged to for a few days. Ed sighed into him and he had to physically tear himself away to attack the chore of packing instead of his new lover.

When Roy got home, he found an unwelcome present on his doorstep. Looking at him with doleful eyes and a forlorn aura was the first woman he loved, the woman that had haunted his dreams for the past half a year. The woman he'd just divorced.

"Sarah? Why are you here this late?" He asked, she stood up from her perch on the step and smoothed down her skirt.

"I wanted to talk with you, would it be an awful time to try now?" She asked politely.

"No, no it's fine. Let me get the door unlocked." He fumbled with the keys and opened the door, leading her into the house she'd once called Home. She peered round, taking note of the stack of reports on the table and the dirty dishes in the sink. "I'm sorry," Roy apologised. "I haven't had much time to dedicate to this place recently."

"I understand." She replied sombrely. They both walked into the stylish living room, decorated by her and a hideous reminder to Roy of failure at love every time he entered. She sat on the loveseat, he sat on the chair, and for a moment he could picture them living together again. It made him feel heavier than he knew he was.

"So, what was it you needed? I hope nothing horrible's happened." Roy asked, concerned. Sarah's sister had been ill when they broken up, he feared the worst for her.

"Nothing like that, I promise. I just…well I thought a lot about us and what happened. The divorce paper came through in the post and I realised…Roy, I love you."

"I know Sarah. I love you too, but we discovered that for some perverse reason love alone doesn't make marriage work." Roy was used to 'I love you'. They'd said it after every argument, and he'd thought about how strange it was to love and hate her at the same time at night many times. He wondered why she coined the phrase now.

"No Roy, I don't want this to be over. The papers made me realise that I have to cut you out of my life and…I can't do that. I don't want this divorce. I thought a lot about what you wrote in your letters to me, your love letters and the ones asking me to stay. They echoed what I felt exactly Roy. I need you in my life for ever."

Roy sucked in a deep breath.

Sarah wanted them to get back together. They could go back to old times, live their old, perfect-couple life in the lap of luxury. 'Beautiful on their own and stunning together', as The Times had put it when they got married. He could be that man again.

But Ed…Ed was worth that life, that idyllic time and all the other times too. Against that afternoon they'd had, dozing in the sun, perfection was dead and very cold.

"Sarah…" He began. She must have sensed his rejection, because she rushed to plead her case.

"Please, we can take it slow. I know how hurt we both go last time, but I know we can make it work too. Remember the college days Roy? Those won't be so hard to find again. But we can take it as slow as you like. We can date, like old times."

"No Sarah. I'm on a case, I'm going to Russia in three days from now, and I'm not coming back to live a life I've already sucked dry."

"So you're just leaving me? Just like that? You can't just push me aside after all we've been through, after how long I've loved and longed for you."

"Like you did, you mean?" She was silent, and he bit back a scathing comment. "You told me to move on and find my way in life without you. I suggest you take your own advice, and that you leave my house before we part on unpleasant terms." She got up wordlessly, defeated, and walked gracefully n front of him to the front door.

As he opened it for her, she turned to him.

"I'm sorry for hurting you Roy. I still love you, almost painfully so. I don't think I'll be able to forget you even if I try." She was crying, single tears shimmering down her porcelain cheeks in the sudden twilight.

"I love you too Sarah, just not the way I used to. I can promise I'll never forget you either." She nodded gratefully and gave him a careful kiss on the cheek.

"Goodbye Roy."

"Goodbye Sarah, and goodnight."

A/N: And she's gone for good! MUAHAHAHAHA! Until I perhaps find a future plot twist for her…But this is meant to end in Russia, and she's not going there. That's right, did I just mention and ENDING? Well, I'm over halfway through the plan for this fic, so yes, it is going to be heading towards its climax soon.

And beyond that, its completion.

D:

But there's still a way to go before then. I'll try to reply to all the reviews of last chapter, but it may take a while as I have no damn access from school. Until then, thanks for reading despite the suddenly random updates! Tataa!

OH! I had to edit because I forgot --; Please check out my original book at: www. UndergroundDrumming .bebo. com . Eh, without the spaces I s'pose. Leave a comment there! It MIGHT be shounen-ai, but I'll have to be careful. It might have to come in the sequal if I want it published. :) If that deigns to ever happen...

Please check it out!


	17. With A Hole In Your Head

**A.N:** Hullo all. Here's another…And we're going off to Russsssiaaaaa! Back on form, updates every three days again now! Man, what a month. Everything happened to stop me updating. Poo... Sorry it's so short, pyo.

**Reviewer of the Chapter**

Suspended because I don't have access to the review page when I'm writing and I'm too lazy to edit the chapters before I post them :P

**Don't Slip on the Splinters**

Chapter 17 – Severe Weather Warning

Roy sat; his jacket hung haphazardly on his chair, a glass of scotch was in his hand and the moonlight pooled through the window like molten silver. The rain drummed a constant beat on his windows and roof, and angry clouds threatened to take away the moon.

He'd been happy. He'd felt alive again, felt wanted again, felt loved again. It had only taken a plea from Sarah to rob him of that feeling for a second time in his life.

She had been his world. He'd often thought lowly of others who got divorced; who allowed their love to rot. But when it happened to him, he understood that it was a landslide. It gathered momentum, speeding toward you and collecting more debris to hit you with without you being able to see where it was coming from. Eventually, it would sneak up and crush you in the most painful ways it could. And you couldn't stop it.

Sarah had timed it fine. A restaurant, Michelin five star, the night before his birthday at a hotel. They sat down with the fine wine and she casually told him that she was no longer in love with him.

Just like that, the landslide impacted.

Her reasons were simple; he wasn't what interested her and she couldn't pretend to be what he wanted. It sounded so cliché, such soap opera garbage, but it was the only excuse she would give. They tried, oh hell they tried, with counselling sessions and relationship psychiatrists. It still crumbled, and it still wrecked Roy. It wrecked him now when he knew he no longer loved her, that he loved someone else. He didn't easily sleep that night, in fact he didn't even crawl into bed.

For although you can cross the line from love to hate, you can still mourn for the bond that was lost.

X

He woke up with a headache the size of Kimbley's ego. Apparently sleep was only allowed to him so that a hangover from too much late-night scotch could follow. He dragged himself around the house, getting ready for work half-heartedly, despite it being early enough for him to sleep for another hour.

A knock at the door made him groan.

"What do you want?!" He yelled before opening the door.

"I came because Hawkeye thought you'd be hanging out of a glass of scotch, in a foul mood with a hangover to rival Japanese water-dripping torture methods. She was right." Ed pushed past him into the house, and immediately cleared away the mess that was a painful reminder of the previous evening's events. Roy watched wearily, and eventually he sighed pathetically.

"Do you know why?" Roy asked. Edward paused, and then he acquired a sad look.

"From what Riza has told me, I can guess." He walked over to the onyx-eyed man and hooked both arms around his neck. "The world's not all bad you know. You've got me to clear up your messes now." He kissed him tenderly, smiling at him when they parted. "Promise."

"Never saw you as a soppy one." Roy mumbled, yawning into his hand.

"I'm not, but that moping look you have about you is disconcerting."

"Hm, fine, I never looked good when upset anyway." Edward hit him and was rewarded with a firm grip on his arm as Roy pulled him out of the house. In the car Roy inserted the keys, but then stopped.

"What's wrong?" Edward asked.

"Nothing really…I'm just not so keen on swapping this warm car with you for the station with Hughes." He flipped on the heater to combat the strange summer chill. Wasn't it supposed to be July?

"Start the car, lazy bastard." Edward scolded. With a sigh Roy followed orders and sped out of the road. The rain began again after its five-minute lapse. Huge drops smashed against the windscreen, and Roy's wipers could barely cope even on full throttle. He was sick of the rain and the cold.

He had to turn sharply down a diversion route when a bright yellow 'ROAD CLOSED' sign almost took out his bumper, the poor abused thing.

"So, you almost ready for the Olympic Trials?" Roy asked, trying not to get too irritated with whoever decided High Street was too good for him to use.

"I hope so. We've been doing the routine for years now; Rosetta's adding in some even more complicated moves, but I don't see that she could improve it any more."

"That's good then, if you feel confident…" Roy slowed down to go through a large puddle. The drains must have burst again, damn rain.

He was surprised when the road dipped suddenly, and the puddle rose up over his wheels. It streamed past his doors and Edward let out a yelp.

"What the hell?" He demanded.

"I don't know! I thought the drains had burst, I thought it would only be a few centimetres deep."

"Do you usually get flooded round here?"

"Sometimes, we did in the big floods two years ago." Roy replied, wincing at the memory of the radio report that morning; flash flooding, severe weather warning, roads and towns submerged.

"Didn't they put up flood barriers?"

"I thought they did." The engine spluttered and heaved, and the wheels refused to move the metal beast forward. Roy groaned and let his head fall forward onto the steering wheel. "It's going to be a bad day, huh?"

"Seems so, ugh." Ed pulled up his feet quickly as the water started seeping in through the door hinges. "We could wade through it and walk back. It's only just above stomach height."

"No way. It'd take both of our strength to open the door under all that water, and I am _not_ getting more wet than I have to." Roy refused petulantly.  
"Well then, what do you suggest we do?"

"Lets see, we're all alone, trapped in a small space in the middle of nowhere with no-one around." Roy leant over to him, and Ed smiled back at him.

"'I Spy' then?"

"Smartarse." Roy replied, swooping close to Ed's lips and pressing them gently. Edward pushed himself up, making the kiss more forceful and at the same time burying his hands in dark hair. Roy's hands gained a life of their own, finding the blond's waist and slipping under the shirt to the warm, taught skin beneath. Edward, pinned to his seat, smiled into the kiss when he managed to slip his tongue into the older man's mouth. Roy seemed surprised for a moment, but then pushed back, pulling Edward flush against him and dipping cold fingers just below his waistline.

Edward shivered pleasurably at the contrast between the cold at his hip and heat in his mouth. Arching his back and forcing clumsy fingers to undo the buttons of the police uniform rubbing against him, he felt lust shoot through him at a moan from the form above him. He wanted to be closer, despite them being as close as they could be.

The bleep of a shrill car horn enticed blissful lips away from him, and he frowned at the loss.

"I think someone's trying to help us."

"Ignore them." Ed pleaded, trying to pull Roy back to him. Roy laughed at him lightly. He kissed him.

"Lets get home and do this someplace _warm_." Roy suggested, winding down the window to lean out and wave at the person in the four-by-four.

"You stuck?" The man driving the Landrover shouted to him.

"Yeah! Could you help?"

"Sure mate, how many in there with you?"

"Just one."

"Alright, I'll drive in a help you out, but I can't do anything for your car I'm 'fraid."

"No, that's help enough. Thanks a lot." Roy gave him a thumbs up and pulled himself back into the car, taking in the enticingly ruffled boy in his passenger seat.

"Come on, this guy's helping us out of this pond."

"Fine." Ed sighed. The rover pulled up next to them, making the water ripple and wave. Motioning for Ed to be prepared, Roy tried to open his car door.

It did, about three inches, water streaming in and rising up to fill the space where feet would usually reside. But the water flow was too strong, and forced it back closed. Roy shook his head and resigned himself to climbing out the window. Sitting in the Landrover, he reached back in to help Ed out, and the blond deliberately landed in his lap before scooting over into the four-by-four.

The man dropped them on the other side of the widening puddle turned lake, and gave Roy a number to call about his car. Apparently he'd saved five people from their cars in the past two weeks. Roy was sheepish.

It began to rain as the rover sped away, and Roy just held out his hand to catch the offending drops. Edward grabbed it and pulled him through the shower, splashing through deep puddles and splattering mud and water up both of their legs. Laughter and occasional kisses followed them home, far outweighing the press of the rain.

When they finally got back to Roy's house and wrapped each other in towels (though not after Roy had whipped his little lover's back end with one first) Roy brought out some hot chocolate, and the heat thawed Ed's hands through the mug wonderfully. Roy phoned up the station to complain about the floods, and Ed texted Winry to explain about the car.

They both stayed in, and it was the best time they'd had, that day.

AN: Storms and floods like this have actually been happening all over England lately. Sucks to be the people in the cars! Thankfully I live nowhere near the river in my town. Lol.

**Author Complaint/Appeal…****but more a Complaint:** TT Someone read my book. No-one has. It makes me sad. I'm not trying for publishing yet, (no, perhaps a few years time) man that would mean a LOT of fine tuning. I just want someone to read it and tell me what they think. :cries hysterically: I'm still a newb at this sort of thing. SOS :waves surrender flag: www.UndergroundDrumming

www. UndergroundDrumming . bebo. com -remove spaces if above address doesn't work.) AND! It will now be a shonen-ai manga on SmackJeeves. But I'll have to draw a few more pages before I start posting, or I'll get behind like I did with this fic. --;


	18. You Got Your Revolution

AN: I'm sorry! Sorry sorry sorry:bow:

Hahaha…--;

I shall commence with the writing more often, promise. Thank you for your patience! Plot bunnies found me, so instead of just rounding this fic up in Russia, there's a WHOLE new arc for you guys. A more bloody, mushy, fluffy, gory arc where you will fluctuate between hating and loving characters like hot and cold. XD Russia does that to people. :ninja: Blame the fic Dead Line for all the grossness:P

Disclaimer: Not mine, I take no credit for them…No sue me! T.T

And OMG people, let's get one thing straight in the RoyEd community, shall we? Yaoi and shonen-ai are two very, VERY, different things. Yaoi is, in short, basically porn (Or at least one of those things you shouldn't be caught looking at at work) haha! A very hardcore relationship between two men. Shonen-ai is fluff. Sappy romantic stuff. Kapiche? Lol. Good, now hopefully that won't bug me as much. XD I had to say it somewhere, don't lynch me…

**FOR:** Lurkinshdws and MARYLOVER. You guys gave me a kick up the butt to start writing again XD **Long to make up for the huge wait!**

**Don't Slip on the Splinters**

Chapter Eighteen – Goodbye, Hello 

Edward was roused by a comfortable warmth surrounding him, the smell of burnt toast and a loud thump on the living room floor. Opening one eye groggily, he watched Roy from his curled up position on the couch and pulled the blanket closer around him.

"What the hell time do you call this? Shut up and let me sleep!" He groaned, wincing as the police officer threw the curtains open and tortured him with early morning sunlight.

" I just didn't want to waste any time." He bent down and smiled genuinely at the bed-head that was Edward. Ed just glared back, still trying to get the sunlight to disappear through sheer force of will, and thus he got a huge shock when Roy kissed him and then ruffled his hair with a force to send him hurtling deeper into the covers. Fighting the offending sheets back, he vaguely heard Roy say something about getting up and then footsteps clomping up the stairs. And then, peace.

He'd stayed at Roy's for a few days after the flood incident, phoning Al every so often to check on him, and only getting the distinct impression that his younger sibling was just happy not to have to clean up after him for once. The floods had worsened all over and the media was having a field day over it. Thanks to this, he'd been allowed to remain in Roy's home and Roy had been given the perfect excuse to avoid work. In this time he'd learnt that Roy wasn't a bad cook (and that he himself most definitely _was_) and that staying with one's other half earns you more kisses than usual.

Another loud thwap broke his reverie, and Ed jumped up to glare at Roy and the suitcase he'd just dropped at the threshold of the door.

"What are you doing, and why so loud?" He demanded, mind still fogged by sleep.

"I'm packing Ed. You know, that thing that organised people do before they leave their homes." Ed snorted at the thought of Roy being referred to as 'organised', but the good mood was gone when he realised that meant today was The Day. The covers were pulled off him mercilessly and without a moment's thought he tackled the intruder, pinning Roy to the wooden floor.

"So early…When do you leave?" He asked, pouting a little.

"I have to be at the airport at six. I thought you'd like to come and say goodbye."

"Ah, okay." Ed said, feigning indifference. He climbed off him and went to open the door to the patio, feeling more than a little downhearted but refusing to show it to Roy. God only knew what taunts and teasing would come of him admitting that he was dreading Roy leaving, even for just a few days; weeks at most.

Following him into the warm, golden sun, Roy wondered at how the little blond could still look so cute in an oversized shirt that he had dug out on complaints of being cold. Ahead of him the boy was straining on tiptoes to reach the pegs on the washing line, hoping to free his captive jeans and shirt.

"Need some help there?" He offered, smirking.

"Shut up, bastard. It's not my fault you have your washing higher than everyone else. You must have a complex or something." He finally managed to get the jeans to tumble down, and just pulled at the shirt instead of jumping for it. "You're packed and everything already?"

"I'd be late to the airport otherwise." Roy replied, leaning against the doorframe.

"We've got no time to do anything before you leave. Why didn't you wake me earlier?" Ed asked, clutching the shirt to his chest as it finally fell. Roy walked up to him slowly, without answer. Slim, cool fingers lifted Edward's chin and an infuriatingly short, feather-light kiss was dusted on his lips.

"I couldn't resist the idea of you being asleep in my sweater, on my couch." Roy explained breathily, Ed rolled his eyes at the possessive tone that shone through.

"Oh shut up you mushy idiot." Edward play-punched him on the shoulder, and was lifted up bridal-style for his efforts. "Oi! Put me down…What the hell do you think you're doing Detective Bastard?" Roy chuckled and dropped blond and clothes onto the carpeted floor of the hallway.

"Get dressed, we have fifteen minutes before I have to leave." Planting one last kiss on Ed's forehead, he sauntered off to the kitchen and left Ed to his own devices. Which, in this case, were shrugging nonchalantly and undressing where he stood.

Once finished, an apple was thrust into his hands and he was pushed in the direction of the front door. Roy ordered him gently into the car, and pulled a wheelie-case out of the house, the carry-all clutched in his hand. He was ready to leave.

X

Edward rooted through the CDs in the side compartment. Amy Winehouse, no. Summer's Greatest Hits, no. Mcfly? Well that was a no too, but…they must have been Sarah's. He waved the McFly CD in front of Roy as he drove.

"Be sure your sins will find you out, Roy."

"Aw, but I thought they were little Edward's favourite group…?"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A BEAN SO SMALL HE HAS TO LOOK TO UP TO READ THE WRITING ON A CD CASE?" Edward went red and scowled as Roy laughed at him. He hid his face in the compartment and shuffled through some more disks. Eventually he pulled out a blank one and studied the scrawl in sharpie marker on its top.

Roy changed lanes and checked his mirrors. That silver Sedan had been cruising behind him for a long time, and it always took the same lanes as him.

"Roy, what's this?" He dismissed it as paranoia, and glanced at Ed.

"Oh, that's just something Hughes made for the drive down. He said he made you one too, didn't you get it? I don't really know what's on it..." Edward shrugged.

"No, he didn't mention it." Pushing the gleaming disk into the CD player, he turned on the radio. Before the CD kicked in, the news blared out.

"Give it a minute, it takes a while to load." Roy advised. The tinned voice of the news presenter permeated the silence of the car.

"_And Brown has increased the budget for flooding repairs by another three million, but experts say that still isn't enough to deal with the sheer scale of the flooding. A recap of our main topic today, police have cordoned off a terminal and a car park at Birmingham airport due to another suspected terrorist attack. Several cars are being inspected by bomb experts. The statement issued this morning was-" _Edward cut the news broadcast by switching to another station. The radio crackled and the CD whirred, overriding the FM airwaves and blurting a song out in its place.

Edward sighed.

"Bad omen." He said eerily.

"Yeah." Roy agreed. "But hey, at least I'm going to Heathrow."

"Yeah." The song drew to a close, and a new beat broke out. Ed looked up excitedly. "I love this song!" He began singing along, humming the words he didn't know, much to Roy's amusement.

And still, the silver Sedan followed behind.

X

The airport was huge, and for all its spacious hallways and glass-domed ceilings, there were still too many people crammed into its modern walls. As Roy and Ed parked the car and moved towards the main building, Roy noticed the Sedan glide into the car park. He took Edward's elbow and walked a little faster, watching the car's reflection in other car windows.

Ed gripped his arm back, not noticing the potential danger. Behind him, Roy caught glances of two men; one could have been from anywhere in the western hemisphere, the second was unmistakably Arabian. Although he hated to stereotype, he was on high alert, and he was about to get on an aeroplane right after an attempted suicide attack…Not to mention the likelihood of him being tailed by Vermine Trapp and his mafia friends. He tightened his hand on the blond's and walked faster despite the sudden eruption of inner protests.

Inside he began to weave them in and out of the crowds. Behind him the two men moved fluidly.

"Roy, Damnit, slow down! What the hell are you doing?" He stopped and let Ed go, earning a frown in response. He frowned himself as he noticed the two figures tailing him had disappeared. "Roy!"

"I have a bad feeling…" Edward looked troubled.

"A bad feeling? About what, flying?"

"I don't know, maybe. Something isn't right…"

"Oh god, don't say that. Look, there's Russell! Stop being paranoid and hurry up." Ed took his arm this time instead and dragged him through lines of people to the queue for Russia; British Airways. Russell grinned as they approached, and Zak waved enthusiastically.

"Finally, what took you?"

"Had to rush a pregnant lady to hospital."

"Right, and I'm the Easter bunny."

"Really? Wow! So where're your ears?"

"Up your-…Roy? Hullo-o-o, earth to Mustang…" Russell waved his hand in front of Roy's face, earning himself a glare. "What's so interesting over there?"

"Nothing."

"You're still paranoid?" Ed sighed and followed Roy's eyes. Two men, an Arab and a remarkably unfamiliar guy of average height, were stood in the queue. To Africa. "Focus and hand in your luggage. You'll be late if you don't stop spacing out, and then you _will_ have a reason for paranoia."

Russell smirked and gave Roy a 'you got told' look. Roy ignored him and handed his suitcase to the overly-chirpy flight attendant on the check-in desk.

After corridor on corridor, occasionally broken by small collections of shops and restaurants, the group finally reached the security check. Ed would have to leave them there, and they were still missing one.

"Hey, hey, hey! You weren't thinking of getting on the plane without me were you?" Hughes waved at them, calling in a loud voice from down the walkway. Behind him, Riza looked typically irritated.

"Roy Mustang, this morning there was still a giant wad of paperwork on your desk that you _promised_ me would be finished before this trip." She thrust a laptop case at him. "It's all in there. If it isn't done by the time you get back in this country I swear I will burn all of your playboy magazines." Ed turned to look at Roy quicker than humanly possible, and the policeman avoided his gaze.

"Okay, okay. I'll do it on the plane…I need something to occupy my mind anyway." Silence settled over the group.

"Roy? Willingly doing paperwork? Okay, now I'm starting to believe his crazy instincts, something must be wrong for something this unorthodox to happen…" Russell joked, rolling his eyes. "Look, you have a ninety-eight percent higher chance of being killed by office stationary than on a plane. Since you haven't been asphyxiated by a killer filing cabinet yet, I think you'll be okay." He patted Roy's shoulder and nudged Zak –who was ungraciously stacked with all the luggage- towards to security check, helping him show his passport through the confusing pile of junk.

Roy turned to Edward, distress momentarily forgotten as he saw the glum set to the blond's jaw. He smoothed his thumb over the disappointed pout Edward's lips had formed.

"I'll see you again in a few days, and I'll call between then, I promise."

"Call when you like." Ed snorted. "I'm not some sick mother pining at the sight of her empty nest." Roy raised an eyebrow but detected the hint of a happy smile tugging at the corner of his lover's lips.

"Alright then. You might hear from me. If I remember then I'll try to pop in and see you win the Gold Olympic Figure Skating championships, but I might just have more pressing engagements…" He turned and waved a nonchalant hand over one shoulder.

"Oh no you don't. You're not getting off that easy. There's no way I'm letting you waltz off to a country of mysterious, well endowed blonde women without a little something to remind you…" He pulled Roy back round. "Of what you have waiting at home." Pushing himself up onto the tips of his toes, Ed captured Roy's mouth and held it captive with his tongue. Roy groaned lustfully, stalling when he remembered where they were. He groaned again though when he realised that he'd have to go without that hot little mouth for almost four days, five if Ed got tied up with drugs trials.

Damn.

Wrapping both hands around Ed's slender waist, he kissed him as deeply as he could for as long as his lungs would allow, before pulling back with a small smile.

"Goodbye Ed, miss you. Bye Riza, take care of him and Al for me." Riza performed a mock military salute, and Ed looked at him still slightly dazed from the kiss. Roy gave one last smirk and passed through the passport check.

"I think that kiss should keep him loyal for a while." Ed muttered, "It's certainly left bruises on me."

"Hmm, that or you just sent him off feeling incredibly sexually frustrated to a country of 'well endowed blonde women' who probably don't cost much…" Ed hit Riza on the arm and she laughed loudly. "Kidding, kidding…"

The plane journey was cramped, boring, smelly and full of screaming babies and children who kicked the backs of the seats in front of them. All through this, Roy still had the looming feeling of dread and the long wait until he saw Ed again hanging over his head. He'd checked for the two men when he'd got onto the plane. They weren't aboard, and must have gone to Africa after all. He was alone with his paperwork.

Hughes was snoring loudly beside him, and in front of them Russell grinned smugly as Zak slept against his shoulder.

"_We are now about to land in Russia." _The intercom buzzed_ " It is five-thirty in the afternoon, and the temperature is minus twenty-two degrees. The captain has turned on the seatbelt sign above your seats, which means we will be landing in a few moments. Please fasten your seatbelts securely until the sign is switched off and the plane has stopped completely. We hope you enjoyed your flight, and we wish you a good time at your destination from everyone at British Airways. Thank you for flying with us."_

With a lurch the plane turned sharply to circle the runway, and Roy's stomach lurched as the plane dipped to land. The airport was a lot smaller than Heathrow. But that was good, because as Roy got shakily off the plane and moved through the final security checks of the journey, it took a lot less time to complete.

Tiredly he hailed a taxi outside the little building, snow plastering itself to his hair, face and clothes. The cold was already seeping through his gloves like a disease, and he ached for his bed, knowing that at home it would be about eleven. In Russia he still had at least three hours of work to get on with.

Finally a car stopped, and their one small blessing was that Russell spoke Russian. Roy really didn't feel like dealing with language barriers right then.

Russia was white and grey, with a little more grey sprinkled on top. He could make out the towers of the Kremlin over the tops of buildings, and caught his inborn curiosity making him focus on famous landmarks despite his weariness. He hoped to look at them properly with Ed once he arrived.

They passed huge hotels, rich gentry coming and going from limos in luscious fur coats and sumptuous ball gowns. Lights in streetlamps made of ornate iron lit the roads until they suddenly stopped. Around them, buildings became more and more dilapidated and beggars began to line the streets. Roy's uneasy feeling began to bubble up again.

They were thrown outside quickly once money had been exchanged. The hotel they were staying at was more of a block of flats. In fact, it _was_ a block of flats.

"Russell, this isn't our hotel." Roy pointed out, growling slightly.

"No, the company budget wasn't big enough to go to the usual hotel. We're in a flat instead. In some ways, that's better. We can move more freely."

"Russell…"

"No, now come on. I did my best. Besides, I know it's well heated, there are enough beds for us all and it isn't full of lice or anything." Sure enough, after they'd walked up a spiralling staircase beside the lift which refused to work, the apartment they entered was warm. It was modernly furnished too, with a large window that looked out over the city. A huge plasma television was in one corner and the kitchen was clean. Three bedrooms each had a double bed and thick fur rugs and throws. In all, it was a cosy place.

Roy dropped his suitcase on the first bed he found.

"I call this one!" He yelled. Similar shouts were heard from Hughes across the hall. Zak, in a show of quick thinking, called the last one. Russell, unperturbed, sat down next to him.

"I'm with Zak! Right, we need to check in at the local British Office. The main embassy is a long drive across the city, so that's the nearest location for us. Zak, I'm leaving you here to cook food." Zak grumbled and shook out his coat, throwing it over the stove in the kitchen. Roy felt his heart flare with the familiar feeling of trepidation, and he bucked on his holster and checked the bullets in his gun. It felt good to have them back at his side after abandoning them to travel on the plane.

"What was that?"

"I said 'yes, your majesty."

"Ah, good. Now cook, slave, before I take out the whip." Roy rolled his eyes and flicked Russell in the head.

"Come on." He ordered. "Let's go before there's a mutiny."

Outside was a rolling mess of thick snow, and the sky grumbled like a disgruntled old man. Feeling very glad for his coat, Roy marched doggedly onward with his two cohorts at his side. Deep footprints lead back to the apartment, but these were being covered fast by the falling flakes, and the end of each street disappeared into inky darkness. Nothing much was seen in either direction, held in a black fog.

The bright lights of the BEO ahead burnt through the impending dark, and they struggled onward towards it. Russell burst through the doors with a flurry of snow and frigid wind, and Roy and Hughes stumbled in behind him, slamming the door back in the face of winter.

Inside it smelt awful. The putrid scent hit Roy as he unwound his snow-coated scarf, and Russell frowned distastefully.

"I'd recognise the scent of death anywhere." He murmured quietly. Roy untucked his jumper so he had better access to his gun and motioned to the others to continue on. The hallway they walked down was empty and untouched, but the moment they opened the door to the stairwell the stench got worse. Roy swallowed down vomit and covered his mouth and nose with the dripping scarf. Blood was dripping from somewhere above them on the staircase, collecting in a puddle on the bottom step. Grimly determined, and realising any uncongealed blood had to be new, Roy started up the staircase.

Three floors up they found the body of a man in a business suit. Fresh blood was dripping from a gaping knife wound in his neck, probably from a severed main artery. It flooded to the edge of the stairs and cascaded down to the bottom where they'd first found it. Above him by two steps was a young man with a shattered skull, brains dusting the wall opposite his wound. Checking for a pulse and finding none, Roy stepped over them emotionlessly and continued upward to the main office. The frosted glass window had blood sprayed up in on the other side.

"Prepare yourselves," Roy warned, removed the scarf for a second. "I have a feeling it's going to be a complete blood-bath in here." The others nodded and Roy tried the door.

It opened easily, and Roy pushed it without sound until it thudded against something heavy and soft. Pushing harder, Roy forced the thing out of the way and slipped in. The unwanted doorstop was, or had been at one time, a secretary. Her hair was coming down from her bun and there were numerous bullet wounds in her back. It was no doubt her blood on the door, most likely spilt as she hazarded an escape. The stench that rolled off her told them she'd been dead some time.

"They must have watched the place and killed anyone who came up. That would explain why these bodies are older than those on the stairs." Hughes mumbled through his makeshift oral mask. Ahead in the waiting room, a woman and a young girl slumped against each other, a merciful singular shot puncturing both of their hearts. Papers and phones were on the floor, dropped in the mess and mayhem. Other than the bodies, the room was clear.

Hughes plucked a phone from the wall and tried to phone the embassy,

A dead beep answered his efforts.

"The phone lines have been cut, or they're down because of the storm." He announced. Roy nodded and Russell looked up from his inspection of a man slumped over a computer desk. He'd been carved up by some monstrous knife and didn't much resemble a man any longer.

"They've all been killed by a varied group of weapons. It has to have been a large group of attackers. I'd say the bodies have been here about two days, maybe three. Of course, the embassy would have sent someone if there was no contact for three days…"

"If these storms have been going for three days, communications going down wouldn't be regarded as suspicious. The embassy probably don't suspect a thing. We'll finish checking this place out then phone them from the flat." Russell nodded and they continued on. The battle must have been contained mostly in the back rooms and the sea of blood had dried more thickly along the walls. Solid crusts grew like a festering moss, collected in pools on chairs and desks. As Roy opened another door to another room of nameless corpses, a hanged man fell down and smashed into him. Cold, bloated, dead flesh knocking Roy to floor like a huge club of meat. Shouts rang out suddenly as other unexplored doors exploded open and he wrenched his gun free. Peppering some shots into the advancing group of men, he saw Hughes go down and tried to fire at the men who followed him to the floor. A dull thud and a blooming pain at the base of his skull made stars blow up like fireworks behind his eyelids.

In less than a second all vision, all hearing, all feeling was gone, leaving him with only the smell, the smell of death…

AN: OMG guys I'm sorry. In the attempt at getting this chapter out as quickly as possible, I wrote the last half while fast asleep XD Please forgive the crappiness…That was a very long chapter considering how full of utter drivel it was…lol…And…

CLIFFHANGER! Dontcha' just hate me? Feel free to express it XD Clicking the purple button throws anti-cliffy tomatoes at me!


	19. But You're Waging War Again

A/N: FINALLY exams are over, freedom! I can write again! Be happy, it's half past twelve in the morning now, and I'm writing so you get something for the new year. XD I know the timing's off for the Olympics, and real life too, but I like the holidays, so there. ;P I'll answer some questions in this chapter too, like, unbelievably;

Is Roy really dead? O.o; Let's find out.

**Dedicated To: **Dark Kaiser, for always being there reviewing in the shadows. You may not have left the longest reviews, or the funniest, or whatever, but everything you've said has been encouraging. Thank you very much.

**Don't Slip on the Splinters**

Chapter 19 – Between Us

Edward wrapped a scarf securely around his neck and struggled with his gloves. Outside winter loomed, and although snow was an unlikely phenomenon, frost came to happily freeze their toes every year.

"You are almost ready, I think. Perhaps change one lift…and then you are ready." Rosetta pulled out a muff and hid her thin hands within its folds.

"What, completely? We're done?" Edward asked.

"Yes. I believe with this routine and your skills, even as you are, you will go far in the Olympic competition itself. Never mind the preliminary trials. Aim past gold, remember, and I'm sure that you will rise to the occasion." Winry's cheeks went pink and a bright smile split her face.

"Which is probably a good thing, since we're going to Russia tomorrow." Ed sighed and brushed past the two women, leaving the training grounds. The naked trees outside were dusted with colourful bulbs, buildings hosted moving reindeers and father Christmas grinned at him from posters and displays in every shop window and shopping bag. Winry put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sure he'll call soon Ed. His letter might have got lost in the post, snow could be messing up the signal or maybe they've got a new lead. They've only been there two days so there's bound to be a ton of work to do."  
"Yeah, I know." Edward replied, staring at the boring grey clouds sitting like fat babies in the sky above them. Shaking her head, Winry walked on.

"You've fallen so hard it makes me want to hit you sometimes."

"Shut up!" Winry laughed and skidded across a frozen puddle, running forward to the car park. Edward hadn't told her that he'd phoned Roy's mobile a million times. At first it would ring and no-one would answer, then it would ring a few times before an automated voice told him it had been switched off. That was all that would happen; he'd phone and get ignored. It was more than enough to make him paranoid.

"Come on Ed, it's cold!" Winry complained. He shook his head at her.

"I'll walk today Winry." Winry looked at him quizzically for a moment, then shrugged and got into the car. Ed pulled out his phone.

He was going to keep trying, damnit, and this time if he didn't get an answer he'd ring Hughes, Russell, even the British Embassy itself until he did.

X

Roy heard the phone vibrate against the table again, the monophonic ring-tone beeping shrilly. He shifted a little, but the constant ache in his back wouldn't stop for even a second. It was better if he pretended he didn't hear the little device, perhaps then no-one else would.

His bleary eyes scanned the room again; the table and three phones, sets of keys and other bits and bobs from pockets littering it were against the wall to his left. The floor was dirty wood, a small, threadbare rug the only decoration. Hughes was far away from him, eyes closed and unwashed blood caking his forehead. His glasses were on the table, one of the lenses smashed. Finding nothing there to take his mind from the phone, Roy began to count ceiling tiles.

96…97…98…

Just as suddenly as it had begun, the ringing ended. Blissful silence resumed.

Footsteps sounded outside the door, thundering in his head, a drum-roll introducing something Roy couldn't place. Just when he'd been granted some respite for the gargantuan headache permeating his skull, some inconsiderate sod decided to walk in metal plated shoes over a tiled floor. Roy wondered if it was Russell.

No. It was never Russell.

A fat man with a Prada suit ambled in through the doorway, which looked oh-so-small when his two, huge bodyguards followed his lead. He began the routine they had fallen into the past few days, and Roy shifted his weight so that the manacles suddenly making their presence known once more on his wrists could withstand the ritual.

"Despite having contacted your colleagues," The man spat abruptly in perfect English, only marred by a heavy Russian accent. "They still have not guessed who is behind your disappearance. It disappoints me. They meekly comply with all of my wishes."

"Perhaps they truly intend to follow your orders for our release." Roy offered, speech sharp despite his vaguely fogged mind.

"Ah, but in Russia it is never so simple. The chances are a million to one that we will take their offer and then kill you, dumping your bodies somewhere, forever lost to them. What makes you so special that they would grovel for your release? Or is it simply that the British have no pride? Indeed, they give the impression they would go to such lengths for any meagre citizen of theirs."

"They probably would; I doubt we serve any specific purpose. It depends on how well it has been covered by the media back home. If the public caught wind of this, the government would be forced to bend over backwards for our release. Iraq has proven that more than once." The man nodded to him sagely. Roy had established at first meeting that he was either the leader or a high ranking member of the mafia, or whatever gang had been paid to destroy their operation. He was known to him only as Svetklov.

"Hmm. Such weakness in bending to the will of the people. The government needs to be stronger." Svetklov declared, turning to look Roy in the eye.

"A dictatorship then. Perhaps like Stalin? Although, that didn't work out so well for Russia."

"An interesting topic to choose for debate, you interest me Mustang. I never manage to have such insightful debates with my staff, being that they fear they shall be killed should they disagree with me. It is…refreshing to find someone willing to voice different views." Roy attempted a shrug, and found it both impossible and painful. The cordial speech was distant, as though he was at a meeting with an official rather than hanging from a wall in front of a man who held the last threads of his life in his hands. He noted a technique he had been taught at a mandatory training course once; escape and distance yourself in the instance of capture. Focus on your main aims and ignore personal discomforts until freedom has been attained.

Easy for them to say in a central heated training room, without the threat of impending doom.

"I don't have much left to lose."

"Aha, then you can relate that feeling to the Russian peoples' election of Stalin-" His phone began to ring again, and Svetklov scowled. "That infernal ringing! Always it is with the ringing, what is so important that people cannot leave you be for a few days?" Stalking to the table, he tore Roy's phone from its surface and dropped it to clatter on the floor. Crushing it regally with his cane, the shrill squawking ceased, and he kicked the mess of wires and plastic casing to Roy's feet. "I hope you were not too fond of that contraption."

Roy simply looked dejectedly at his only possession.

Suddenly Hughes' phone sprang into life, lights glowing and a background of Elysia displaying itself proudly. It too was snatched up by the Russian and he looked at the screen.

"Edward? The boy is determined. I shall have to destroy both of these phones then, should he fail to desist. Do you know who this is?" Roy sighed, he wondered if Edward thought the kidnappers would actually let Roy use a mobile phone.

"Yes." He answered reluctantly. The man looked at the picture of Elysia.

"You all have people waiting for you to return to your homeland. Let us hope, then, that your government comply with all of our wishes so that you fulfil their wishes. Boris! Take these devices to the incinerator."

X

Edward punched a tree, sending a small drift of snow tumbling from its branches. Roy had been suddenly disconnected, again, and Hughes had rejected his call. _Rejected_ it. He couldn't believe it. Trying another number, he frowned.

Russell's phone wasn't on.

If the bastards were ignoring him there would be hell to pay, whether they were in another country or not. Grasping at straws, he searched his phone for one last attempt. What was his name, Sam? Max? Zak.

It rang, and rang, and rang…Readying himself to throw the phone at the previously abused tree, Edward was almost shocked when someone actually answered.

"Hello?" The voice was strained, tired.

"Hey, Zak? It's Ed." Wondering if he should just jump right in and demand an explanation, he remembered how weary Zak sounded and decided that there was still the chance they were extremely busy. "How…How are you guys doing?"

There was a long, ominous pause. Edward only knew that Zak was still there because he could hear sharp breaths down the line.

"Zak, you okay?"

"They didn't tell you?"

"What?"

"Oh God, they didn't even tell you. Damnit, they can't expect me to…" Edward felt his heart drop. What did he mean? What couldn't be said…? He brushed the thoughts aside before he scared himself.

"What is it, Zak? You have to be a bit more specific. Look, I haven't been able to get through to Roy for two days now and I'm starting to get more than a little paranoid that I'm being brushed off. What is going on over there?"

"I can't tell you, but they should have told Gracia and Fletcher by now. I…I'll get the Embassy to phone, or send an official note or something…I'll do it now." And with that, the line went dead, and Edward let out a scream of frustration. Not only was he angry, but now he was scared. It had to be something truly damning to send information out to families. "I swear Roy, if you've died in the line of duty I'll resurrect you and kill you again…!" _And if you were ignoring me in the line of duty I'll kill you too…_

He ran to the nearest lay-by and held up his hand for a taxi.

X

Zak had done nothing but stare out at the drifting snow since the rest of the group had left. He'd waited for five hours, staring out of the window after the discovery that Russian television was just as bad as English and that he couldn't cook for his life, until he'd phoned the Embassy. He'd waited so long because he knew that Russell especially could get caught up in police affairs. If any new information had been unearthed then they'd probably be out for the whole night. But, if they knew they'd be gone so long, they should have phoned him.

His first call was to Roy, as Russell's phone was still in his suitcase and he didn't have Hughes' number. It didn't answer no matter how many times he rang, or what angle he held it up at to get a better signal. His second phone call was to the British Office, only to confirm they were actually there, and when he couldn't get through he waited for another few hours. It was likely the storm outside was blocking all phone signals and lines, and he couldn't get too worried over that.

Seven hours later, and he decided to go down to the British Office and meet up with them there. From his taxi, he had watched the snow fall until they drew into the street on which the BE Offices stood. They didn't reach them though, as a man was slumped outside, the snow around him deep crimson as it mingled with his blood.

The taxi driver would not take him further.

He was still looking out of the window when they pulled up outside the real Embassy two hours later, a building of chrome and glass and marble, with pillars on every available wall. There was no window to look through while he explained the absence of his group to the officials there. There was one in the room they put him in to wait, however. The whole wall was glass, and perpetually falling snow filled his vision while they sent a dispatch unit to the British office.

And now, as he listened to a governor make the call, he was watching the snow through that window again. In the background, he could hear the muffled sobs of Gracia on the other end of the line.

X

Edward knocked on the door again. The fading Christmas tree twinkled smugly at him from the warmth of the living room, and he glowered at it. From inside the house, a sudden set of racking sobs tore through the front door and Edward jumped, alarmed. He knocked again, more insistently, and peered through the letterbox.

"Gracia! Gracia are you alright? It's Edward…" He didn't know what else to say, and then he saw Elysia's feet. She opened the door, and when he looked at her properly she could have been a completely different little girl. He scooped her up into a hug and she clung to him.

"Mummy started crying and I don't know what's wrong. She won't stop, she won't…" With that the child burst into tears and Ed cautiously stepped into the living room.

Gracia was on the sofa, curled up. She hugged herself and her hair covered her face, but the shaking of her shoulders betrayed her tears. The phone was at her feet, and the batteries had been knocked out of it on the hardwood floor. Edward coughed.

She peered up at him through her hair.

"Oh, Edward…" She moaned, reaching out and pulling him to her. He felt awkward as he held both Hughes women, the little girl on his shoulder petting her Mother's hair.

"Shh, Gracia, it's alright. Tell me what's wrong and we can try to fix it." He said in a low voice, as though speaking to a spooked horse. She shook her head.

"No, we can't fix it at all. Neither of us, no matter how much we want to…" Until then, he hadn't thought it was because of the conversation he'd had with Zak. Suddenly, danger was very real and very close.

"Gracia, what…what is it?" She swallowed a sob and tried to compose herself, looking up at him with wide, tearful eyes.

"They've taken them…Some group, terrorists or…They've taken Maes. My Maes…" She broke down again and began to rock. Edward was shocked into complete silence for a few minutes. The smiling, joking father who had always just seemed to be _there_…was a hostage. The anger he felt towards the captors was drowned in the sick panic flowing through him.

"It's okay." He said to both himself and Gracia. "It's okay. Roy and the police force over there will do everything to get him back. I'm sure they…-"

"No, you don't understand, they have Roy and Russell Trigham too, and…" Edward's heart stopped beating, and he forced himself not the be sick. "And…Oh God, they won't pay the ransom. They won't. They say they'll try everything else to get them back, everything, but not the ransom. Why not? I couldn't make them! Seven years of Maes' loyal service couldn't make them! They're letting him die!" Her voice had risen to a rugged scream. "They're letting my husband die!"

He didn't reply, and rocked her slowly while his mind worked at yards a second. Roy was a captive of…what…terrorists? In Russia?

And they weren't going to pay for him to be freed. What sort of price would be too high for a life? Damnit, he'd find a million if he had to, if _they_ wouldn't. And he would, he would get Roy back. He'd get them all back. After all, he was walking right into the lion's den in only a night's time.

X

The next time Roy awoke, Hughes was calling his name.

"Roy, damn it!" He looked at his friend through darkened eyes. "Any developments?"

"Apparently negotiations are still happening, they contacted the Embassy directly. Other than that, Ed rang again and our phones were confiscated, I don't think anyone at home knows about our situation."

"Fucking cover ups." Hughes spat. "How are you doing?" Roy attempted to shrug, again realising it was painful to do so.

"As well as can be expected. Certainly better of than Omi Chikawari was." Hughes winced.

"You think they'd do that to us? I thought we were just bartering tools."

"They want to stop the British police force from interfering with the Russian mafia. If our superiors don't comply, we're just dead weights to them. At best they'll kill us as an example."

"And at worst?" Roy didn't answer, it didn't bear thinking about.

"Just focus on looking for a weak point. Escape is our best option right now." Hughes nodded.

"Alright. And, Roy?"

"Hmm?"

"Where's Russell?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen him since we…arrived …here." Hughes was silent.

The door opened and large man entered with some soup on a tray. Two other men stood inside the doorway, blocking their exit and making sure the third of their number was allowed the leave unharmed. The soup was placed in the table with little ceremony, and then he walked over to Roy and unlocked his chains. He slumped to the floor, the blow to his head still making him dizzy and his legs feeling weak from his hanging position stopping his blood flow. He carefully massaged his wrists and waited for news to come; good or bad.

"Eat. Meals not be normal for you here." The man told them in broken English, releasing Hughes as well and lurching out of the door. His two comrades quickly followed, and the door was locked with a resounding clang that sounded more like a funeral bell than any Roy had ever heard before.

Hughes made his way over and put a hand on Roy's shoulder.

"Let's conserve our strength, and listen. There's always the chance we may discover something important to the case."

"If we do, we're in even more danger of being killed. Still, there isn't much else we can do." He looked at his almost life-long friend and smiled. "We've got out of all the sticky messes we've got ourselves into before."

"Yeah." Hughes agreed. "We just need to summon up enough boyish mischief to survive this one too."

AN: Seriously, the amount of people I had asking me if Roy was dead astounded me. I didn't mean for it to come across like that, I'm not sure how it did. I meant he faded out of consciousness into black, not…Blarg. But no, it's too early on for anyone to die. No worries guys, Roy is safe!

For now at least….

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and I wish you all the best year ever in 2008!


	20. Marching On The Spot

AN: OMG I'm back after HALF A YEAR! I won't bore you with my pitiful excuses for not updating. But I will say the fire I had for this fic is slowly guttering out…Still I want to finish it for you guys. You've all been so great and supportive I just COULDN'T give up and leave it without an ending. So, I'm going to finish. And I do love writing about Roy, it's fun to write as an adult occasionally. XD

Thanks for everything. Seriously, you guys made this fic my baby. Geeze, I honestly didn't think it had been that long…Since January, holy cow…

And sorry about the overload of Zak. Unfortunately, he's the only one not being held hostage…By either Russian mafia or Rosetta. I think Rosetta is scarier. AND WARNING: GORE AND SHIZ. YEH.

This chapter is for MARYLOVER. Being as you are amazing and wonderful and all, you deserve it. So, without further ado, I begin the ending sequence. I believe about five or so chapters to go…But I may be wrong. I usually am.:

**Don't Slip on the Splinters**

Chapter 20 – Marching on the Spot

Edward left the plane with a weary grimness, hand luggage slugged over one shoulder. He was thankful to Al, who had dutifully taken the brunt of her nervous conversation throughout the flight out of concern for his morose brother. She chattered to Rosetta beside him, as she had the whole flight, occasionally casting brief, concerned glances in Ed's direction. He was worried, and it showed, but he couldn't bring himself to tell Winry or Al about Roy and Hughes. She was so happy about their chance at Olympic fame, they all were, and he couldn't crush it for her.

Besides, they were coming back, so there was no reason to cause upset for a problem that would be solved.

They were…

They were definitely coming back.

X

"They told me that they would reach a decision within three days, it has been _four_, and I am not a man who is happy to wait!" Every other word of Svetklov's was punctuated with a sharp kick to Roy's ribs. His hands, shackled behind his back, refused to help him fight, or flee, or even get up. His lip was split, and his hands were numb both from cold and from lack of blood. Even his eyeballs felt frozen. "Due to this foreign lack of respect, you and you shall not be complete packages when…_if_, they ever decide to save you."

Roy groaned and spat blood onto the floor, rolling onto his back in relief as the kicks and punches finally stopped. Above him he could see open sky for the first time in five days, and he smiled grimly at the stars. Snow was encrusted around the opening, the frigid air chilling even the Russians in their thick sheep-skin coats.

"A package has been sent to your superiors to help them reach a decision, and now you have only a few hours, barely a day, until either your deaths or your liberty. It has been…interesting, Gentlemen. I leave you now with my men. Goodnight." An arm was under Roy's in an instant, hauling him unceremoniously to his feet and into the middle of the room. Svetklov didn't close the door behind him.

From somewhere outside his field of vision Roy heard a pained yelp.

"Maes…!" He tried to turn but was forced back into position by a scorching punch. The numbed skin made the blow feel like someone had strapped a hand grenade to the fist that had hit him. Painfully lifting his head, Roy looked into the face of a particularly disgruntled, meat-headed Russian.

"You…You do this!" He angrily gestured to his mouth, and at the two gaping caverns that stood where two white front teeth should have been. "Whores here don't like kissing mouth longer, you repay me?" An angry fist in his gut knocked the wind from Roy's lungs. "Huh?" The feral gleam that overtook the man's eyes threw Roy into fight or flight. There it was, right in front of him. How could they be so stupid? An _open door_. "Here in Russia, we have ways to showing men who no repay debts."

The muscles in his legs suddenly released their tension as Roy sprang for the door. He had little to no time to get out, phone the authorities and get back in unharmed to free Maes and Russell. He didn't want to leave them, but training took care of his morals.

Everything around him was inputted into his brain with new clarity, senses heightened by adrenalin and the sudden return of blood to his limbs. Fingertips made the distinction between wood and plaster as he guesstimated the distance between himself and the outside door against a bullet and his chest.; the bullet would definitely reach him first.

He risked it anyway.

X

Zak's heart sank lower with each downward step he took. The Russian Federal Morgue wasn't heated, as none of its occupants could appreciate the warmth, and the team of foreign officers shrank into their coats and scarves. They travelled in near silence past differently labelled rooms with names he couldn't understand until they reached floor minus eight.

It opened without a sound, and the group shuffled in.

"It's this one." A man stated; Dan, Zak seemed to remember; some higher up at the British Embassy. Or was it Dave? He couldn't will up the muster to care. The frosty metal door opened as though it were in pain, revealing a plain room containing four metal tables on wheels. Sheets covered their burdens respectfully.

"You ready?" He was asked, gruffly. Zak nodded despite his numbing neck, and watched in terrified fascination as the sheet was peeled back.

The first thing he noticed was that it wasn't smiling. No smirk or happy-go-lucky grin, just lax, dead lips. Colder than pewter. Fish lips.

The face…Was not the face that belonged to him. It wasn't the one he knew, the one he'd memorized over so many debates and lessons and teasing scaldings. It was as though someone had made a cast to desperately preserve something long gone. A marble replica of a dead man.

"Is this Russell Tringham?" Zak swallowed the bile he felt rising to burn the back of his throat.

"It was." He choked out.

"Alright. Would you like a moment alone?" Zak blinked furiously to avoid tears in front of the men who were pretending to care, and nodded succinctly. The team shuffled from the room and back into the bare corridor, leaving Zak alone with the Russell impostor. Lifting one hand, he gently placed it on the pearly-white shoulder before him. Nothing living, and nothing telling of why he was dead. He moved on.

The face had been cleaned up, evidence of blood in the nostrils and ears betraying the state he must have been recovered in. Cuts lined one cheek deeply, and there was an obvious injury to the head. The neck was bruised. That meant he'd been strangled whilst still alive, so it was a possible cause of death; Russell had taught him that. Irony was a bitch.

The first tear fell.

Further down, his doctor's hands told him of fractured ribs and a broken arm. It hung out of its socket, useless to its owner even if it had survived the ordeal. There was a wound on the stomach, but it didn't seem deep enough to cause concern. He pulled the blanket down, and them abruptly covered the horrifying mess he found there once more.

It took ten minutes of deep breathing and wiping away the water leaking from his eyes before he could work up the courage to pull down the sheet again without throwing up. The legs were mutilated, broken and bent unnaturally. Bone stuck out in jagged shards from the blue flesh, and he could see without having to examine that the knee-caps were shattered. Zak choked.

He threw himself onto the dead chest and beat it using his fist without passion.

Finally, he allowed himself to cry over this Russell who wasn't Russell.

X

The first bullet exploded by his head, while the other managed to clip his right hand. Roy carried on running, already focussed on shutting down his senses to avoid pain, avoid fear, to reach his ultimate goal. The corridors were a maze of abandoned tunnels dug by crazed worker ants all leading him to dead ends. Somewhere an alarm went off, but most of the sirens were choked by the cold.

The deeper he went into the labyrinth, the closer he got to dilapidation. Walls were crumbling, here and there a hole big enough to see the world outside through its gutted middle, missing tiles making him stumble and cut his naked feet. He wished he had all of his clothes. He wished it wasn't so cold. He wished he hadn't left Maes behind.

He wished to be at home with Ed, teasing him by the washing line.

A door loomed ahead, a metal sentry guarding his route to escape. Roy pulled down the latch, but it stayed stubbornly closed, its bulk not moving even an inch under his weight. Red blinking to his left signalled a key pad, which in turn demanded a password from the bleary-eyed prisoner. His mind blanked.

He could try some codes without setting off the alarms, they were already blearing after all. Numbed fingers rose to the monochrome pad and carefully punched the first random letters it found. It let out an undignified shriek of protest and the door remained smugly closed. Footsteps reached Roy's ears. Men, attracted by the machine's shrill beeps, began to run toward him with the clatter of guns. It was a matter of time, a matter of seconds. Roy was doomed.

He punched harder, faster at the keypad. The beeps came quicker in succession and the door steeled itself for a fight. Voices reached him and Roy panicked. His fingers bled painfully but he still hooked what was left of his nails under the security pad's panelling, brutally tearing it to reveal the quivering innards. He'd seen a movie once, and it had worked for James Bond. But he wasn't James Bond and this wasn't a prop, and he could see them coming now. _There's no time, no time!_

Ripping two wires out, he touched their two spark-spewing ends together and hoped for an explosion. A bullet ricocheted off the door, but it remained impenetrable. There had to be something…the door was designed to open wasn't it? Then why was it still in his way? The palm of his left hand suddenly bloomed with pain, the gunshots still sounding telling him it was a bullet. A strangled cry tore itself from his throat and he pulled out every wire to try and activate the safety mechanism but…

The safety mechanism, of course, the _safety mechanism_! He let out a mad laugh and searched for the fire symbol. It was tucked under the wires hanging like spilled intestines, and just as he pulled it another speeding metal demon tore through his shoulder.

Water began to fall from the ceiling and more sirens joined the cacophony, the melody the accompanied his escape. But he ignored his own personal soundtrack in favour of the opened fire-door, which he threw himself through and began to shove closed with his one whole shoulder. Around him was a small, thin set of wooden walls set with windows that dangled the outside world before his eyes sickeningly. Looking down at the door when he heard pounding on the other side, he noticed his shoulder had been bruised. Blood pulsed out of its opposite, soaking the thin undershirt he still had remaining, and despite his hands being numb he knew it was pouring from his palm as well. He had to get out now; if the guns didn't get him then the blood loss would finish the job.

Or the dogs.

A feral, guttural bark tore the frigid air as he flung open the wooden door to a millisecond of freedom. Snow clung to him as it fell from fat yellow clouds and he threw himself desperately in the direction he prayed would lead him to a road or public place. His legs began to scream at him and his lungs felt like they were on fire. They reminded him with no sugar-coating that he'd eaten nothing over the previous four days, and that adrenalin alone was not enough to make up for the strength he'd lost, nor would it sustain the level he was pushing his body to in hopes of escape. Even regularly he didn't have much hope against a healthy dog, as he was at that point…

He could hear the panting and tearing of snow by claws. The barks drew closer to him, literally snapping at his heels, slicing his calves. A rock underfoot, one leg giving way, stumbling; it was all they needed. This was where he was going to die, so he grit his teeth and hoped he'd go quickly. The vicious beast launched itself onto Roy's back and lunged for his throat.

Three succinct gun shots rang out, and suddenly the dogs lay steaming in the snow. Nothing moved.

A gloved hand dangled before his face.

His abused body refused to take it.

"Officer Roy Mustang, we've been hoping to bump into you."

X

It was the feet that alerted him first. As a doctor, Zak had seen his fair share of dead people, it was an unfortunate part of his job. Russell…Russell didn't have dead people feet. If he'd been dead as long as he'd been told, the feet should be almost perfectly blue with yellow soles. Russell's, while blue, had a tinge of purple and his soles were as ordinary as anyone else's.

Hope welled up.

Zak crushed it with a mental hammer.

He checked the vital signs, but couldn't find a pulse. He couldn't hear breathing either. Wishful thinking on the part of the bereaved. He'd seen that before; people who looked for signs that their loved ones lived on, even after they were scientifically dead. _Oh God, I'm counted as 'bereaved' now, aren't I? No…_

Maybe…Maybe he hadn't been able to hear the breathing, because he was hiccupping. Or even he couldn't see the rise and fall of the chest through the tears…

He checked the pulse again. And then again. In desperation he wove his fingers together and pumped his hands on the dead man's chest.

The table groaned in protest. Russell's corpse didn't even twitch.

"What the fuck am I doing?" He whispered into the empty room.

X

At the sight of a European police badge, Roy almost burst into tears. The hand belonged to a man older than him by a few years. Probably, by that account, above him in the food chain of police employment. When he didn't take it a face came into view and the officer smiled at him.

"Let me help you out there, Buddy." An arm gripped his midsection and his own was flung over foreign shoulders making him groan in pain. He was half walked half dragged through the snow towards a non-descript white van, and then lifted inside.

The warmth made him instantly dozy, but he couldn't sleep as a blanket was tossed over his shoulders and the superior officer began barraging him with questions.

"Do they know you're missing?"

"Y-yeah. The alarms were going off when-god damn! Shit!" He yanked back his arm from the kid at his side.

"You're gonna' have to let me treat that. You don't want to have escaped only to die from a holey hand, right?" Roy grit his teeth and grunted as the boy wiped the wound with a cotton ball and alcohol.

"I'm more worried about my shoulder…"

"Your…Aw fuck, I'm gonna' need an oxygen mask over here stat!" The engine rumbled to life, and a hundred pieces of equipment burst into action with bleeps and lights. People around him began talking loudly. Outside he heard more guns. "And someone press that surgical cloth down on the wound, I can't have him losing anymore blood!"

"But wait!" Roy implored, he shoved the oxygen mask away from his face violently. "Wait, you can't leave, there's still two men in there! Another officer and one civilian, we can't leave them. Damnit turn round!" The superior officer laid a hand on the minimal part of his arm that was still in tact.

"We can't Roy. They'll be on red alert, we thought we could take them by surprise and bust you out but now…We were always outnumbered, but now they'll be ready for us."

"You can't just leave them! You have an obligation, as a government paid protector of-"

"I'm not risking my team!"

"So you're going to just let them _die?_"

"It's them or us Mustang, let it go! Negotiations are still happening, we'll do what we can without the suicide missions, got that? Now put on your damn mask and shut the fuck up."

_Russell…Maes…I'm so sorry…I can't…_

The bumps made his wounds throb, and he realised dully that no-one was holding that medical cloth the young paramedic had ordered. At some point the blood loss robbed him of his consciousness. At no point did it deign to take his guilt.

X

The hotel was lavish and ornate. Winry gushed over the view they had, claiming she could see the Kremlin. Ed was sure she was just seeing a far-off church in the big, grimy city that had swallowed up the man that occupied his mind.

"Ed, what's wrong?" Winry set a dainty hand on his arm and he started at the touch.

"Nothing, Win. I guess I'm just nervous about the preliminaries. And…And about Roy."

"You're already so possessive. My little Edo, all grown up!" She grinned. "I'm sure he's just been really busy. He'll probably drop everything when he hears you're here." Edward made a noise of approval which Winry seemed to accept. She patted him and moved away.

"Brother, whatever it is, it'll be okay."

"Hm?" Al was suddenly there. The comforting scent of his brother, the one constant in his life, made him sigh out a little tension.

"You've just…Got further and further away the deeper we got into Moscow. I know something's wrong but…We can fix it. We always do."

"Yeah Al. We'll fix it in no time." Ed assured. Below him, a non-descript white van ripped through the streets in a spray of snow and grit. Edward closed the blinds.

A/N: Mm' done. My 'z' key and my space bar are both not working (Not good with a name like Zak 8) and I have to hit them really hard to make either of them work. MY GOD is it ever annoying lol. Thanks for reading, please leave a comment and the next chapter should be up in no time since I have the next two days free. Should be. Maybe. Okay pleasedon'tkillme, onto chapter 21…


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